Tick Tock
by tamilnadu09
Summary: When Derek gets a mysterious gift that claims to be able to "fix" his mistake, Derek must first figure out what that mistake was. Thrown into another world, can Derek right the past AND get the girl?
1. Waiting

**Disclaimer: **I don't own LWD or any of its characters.

**Author's Note: **Okay so I know I haven't finished my other story, but I got inspired with this idea last night. It's NOT a sequel to any of my other stories, but I think it'll be really fun to write :)

* * *

It wasn't that Derek really _expected _anything. Not from _her _anyway.

Birthdays had always been a big deal—but that was at home. When people had _time _to make it a big deal. And now he was at college, so yeah, he really wasn't expecting much.

Sure, he knew that his family would call. Not that his dad would remember. And with all the excitement of being pregnant, he doubted Nora would remember either. But he knew Ed and Liz (mostly Liz) would remind the family. After all, she had her keener sister's organized mind. She'd probably carefully written down every family member's birthday in a little calendar. He knew for a fact that Casey used to do that…

Derek sighed and stared at his cell phone, willing it to ring. Hey, even if the fam forgot, he knew one person that would never, ever forget. In fact, she hadn't forgotten his birthday in nearly 15 years. Obsessed, you say? Stalker, you say? Yep, that would be his girlfriend.

Not that he particularly minded having Emily as a girlfriend. No, quite the opposite. She was attentive, sweet, caring, and helpful…all the characteristics of a good friend. Sure, that line between friend and girlfriend had gotten a bit blurred. But he didn't mind. At least, not too much.

Actually, long-distance Emily was quite tolerable. Sure, she called everyday—but that was to be expected. In fact, the only thing that annoyed him about her was, well, her paranoia. She was constantly asking him where he was going, who he was hanging out with, whether he'd met any _nice _girls…You get the idea. Quite paranoid. Though, he should've guessed, considering that her best friend was _Casey_, of all people.

Ah, Casey. He wondered if she would call him today. Hell, he wondered if she even knew that his birthday was today. Even if she did, it wasn't likely that she'd break the silence between them. What's that, you ask? Silence? Yup, you heard that right. The amazing fighting duo who couldn't keep their mouths shut for five seconds…hadn't spoken in months.

And this time it definitely wasn't his fault. Sure, they'd had fights in high school. But living under the same roof hadn't left much opportunity for the _silent treatment. _But college on the other hand…they had no classes together, ran in different circles, and lived on opposite sides of campus. He literally hadn't seen her since the day they left the house.

_**Don't stop, make it pop, DJ blow my speakers up—**_

"Hello?"

"Yo D!" "Derek!"

"Sam! Ralph! How's it going!?"

"Pretty good, man. What about you?" "Partyin' tonight?"

"You know it! How're you guys doing?"

"School, man. The usual, you know."

"How's the roommate sitch workin out for you?"

Sam laughed, "Ralph's surprisingly easy to live with. Kinda obsessed with his drums though."

"As long as he doesn't go sniffing your shoes, I think you're good," Derek joked.

"Yeah…hey, so we just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" "Happy b-day D-man!"

Derek grinned, "Thanks guys. Means a lot."

"Alright well we gotta go…live it up for us tonight."

"I will," Derek promised as he hung up.

Live it up. Yeah right. Emily would probably have a fit if he went out tonight. He honestly didn't see what her problem was. After all, he'd never cheated on his other girlfriends, had he? Sure, he may not have been the best boyfriend, but he'd definitely been 100% faithful. Though, he couldn't really blame her for being suspicious. Before, he'd had Casey to "keep him on the straight and narrow" (Emily's words, not his). But now, well, Emily knew that Derek and Casey were on the outs…and so there was "nothing to stop him from doing something stupid" (again, her words).

In Derek's opinion, Emily was _way _more worried about the fight than anyone else (including the family) was. She'd been fighting tooth and nail to get Derek to talk to Casey, but on this one issue, he was standing firm. _He _hadn't done anything wrong.

And in an ironic twist, it was pretty much Emily's fault that the whole fight had happened in the first place. See, everything had been going well after graduation. Derek was with Emily, Casey was with Truman, and Casey and Derek had somehow along the way become friends.

George and Nora, needless to say, were ecstatic. Derek and Casey being civil to each other? It was a dream come true. Ed and Liz, on the other hand, always seemed to be a little wary—almost as if they knew it _was _too good to be true, and there was going to be a breaking point.

Sure enough, that breaking point happened during the last week of summer vacation. By this point, Truman was history (as if he could change his cheating ways). He'd decided that since he was attending the same college as Vicki, it would just be a whole lot _easier_ if Vickiwas his girlfriend…of course, everyone had seen that coming. Casey wasn't too broken up about it, and had made it very clear that she couldn't wait to start dating more _mature _college guys.

And so, in that last week, Derek had casually mentioned to Casey that he was planning on breaking up with Emily. After all, he deserved to be able to explore the vast freedom of college without being attached to anyone too. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt the need to tell Casey this information—other than the simple fact that he and Casey had always been closely entwined in each other's love lives, and well, she_ was _Em's best friend. Clearly she had to be prepared to pick up the pieces when he broke Emily's heart (and no, he wasn't being cocky. That girl was just so…smitten).

In any case, he had expected a little annoyance on Casey's part (after all, it was her best friend), but he had definitely _not _expected the full-blown Casey freak out. He couldn't exactly remember what had been said in their screaming match, but he knew that after she had called him an "insensitive jerk" and a "selfish pig", he had completely lost it. Didn't Casey know better than to push him when he was already pissed off? Mad Derek= Mean Derek. Learn it. He had retaliated by called her a "desperate slut" and a "pathetic ho" for going out Truman. A furious Casey had thrown him out of her room, and Derek gladly left, slamming the door behind him.

And that was the whole story. George and Nora were none too happy at the return of normalcy—except, well, Derek couldn't really call what they'd gone back to as normal. They had somehow reached a silent understanding of polite indifference and complete avoidance. For example, if one person was talking, the other didn't respond. If one person entered a room, the other would leave. And that was the state of things leading right up to their last day at home.

Even now, he couldn't explain why he hadn't broken up with Emily. It wasn't that he was _scared _of Casey or anything…and it wasn't that he was actually listening to her…No, maybe he decided it would be best if he just waited for a while to see where this whole thing went--

_**Tonight, I'mma fight,'Til we see the sunlight—**_

"Hello?"

"Hey baby! Happy birthday!"

Derek forced himself to sound excited. "Thanks Em!"

"Any big plans?"

"Nah, none that I know of."

"Well maybe you should take this time to reconnect with a certain sister of yours…"

Derek sighed, "Give it up, Em."

"Fine, fine. Don't listen to me…alright well I got a huge essay due tomorrow so I'm gonna let you go sweetie."

"Alright honey, thanks for calling."

"See ya D!"

Derek slowly hung up. The day was almost over and still no call from the family…or from _her. _

And no, he wasn't _waiting _for a call from her. Not after she had gone to great lengths to avoid her so-called _same-difference _brother.

He tapped his fingers.

No, he wasn't waiting.


	2. Surprise

**Disclaimer: **I don't own LWD or any of its characters.

**Author's Note: **Thank you so, so much for your positive reviews! You guys are the best! As some of you might have connected, the title of this story partially comes from Derek's ringtone (TiK ToK by Kesha). However, the title also refers to something else..which you shall know soon ;). And yes, I agree with all of you who said Demily gets in the way of Dasey..no worries, Demily won't stick around forever! Anyway, thanks for reading! I'd really appreciate your reviews :)

* * *

11:57 P.M.

Derek glared at the clock.

11:58 P.M.

He tapped his pencil impatiently.

11:59 P.M.

_**Tick tock, on the clock, But the party don't stop—**_

"Hello?"

"DEREK MY BOY!"

"Dad," Derek acknowledged. "Cutting it a little close aren't we?"

"It's not midnight yet!" Edwin called out.

"Am I on speaker phone?" Derek demanded.

"It's the only way we can all say…HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" everyone shouted.

Derek held the phone away from his ear, but grinned. "So who finally remembered?"

"Hey I remembered," George protested.

"Sure you did," Derek laughed.

"Okay, okay." His dad admitted, "Maybe it was Liz and Ed."

"Ed? Really?"

"Actually it was more just me," Lizzie's voice said.

"Well thank you Liz," Derek replied, grinning. "And thanks everyone for calling."

"You're welcome, Derek," Nora said. "Oh and we've sent you a gift in the mail. Did you get it yet?"

"No…"

"Well that's great, Nora. Now you've ruined the surprise," Edwin complained.

Nora laughed, "Well he still doesn't know what it is…"

"Who are you guys talking to?" a small voice suddenly interrupted sleepily.

Derek felt a smile on his face. "Marti!"

"Marti, honey, you're supposed to be sleeping—" Nora said.

"Is that Smerek?"

"You know it," Derek answered, grinning.

"Smerek! Today's your birthday, isn't it?"

"Why yes it is. Wish I could be there was a special Smarti hug," Derek said, actually wishing he was there.

"Me too," Marti responded, and he could just _see _her cute little pout. "Happy Birthday!" she shouted, blowing a horn or something loudly.

"Aw thanks Smarts," Derek called back. "But now you gotta go back to bed, okay?"

"Okay," Marti agreed. "Bye Smerek."

"Bye Derek!" the rest of the family called out.

"Bye." Derek hung up, feeling a lot happier than he had in days.

He glanced at the clock. 12:10 P.M. His birthday was officially over. _She _really hadn't called.

Derek slowly got into bed, looking over at his roommate's empty bed. The good thing about having a roommate who had a girlfriend, you ask? That said girlfriend had her own apartment. So basically Derek lived in a single, which was perfectly fine with him. His roommate (from about the 2 seconds he'd seen him over the course of the year) did not look like the type of person Derek would get along with.

What type of person is that, you ask? Well, for starters, Derek did not like football players. His roommate was a football player. Enough said.

Derek sighed and closed his eyes, drifting almost immediately into a dream-fueled sleep. _Running, had to keep running. Derek looked frantically over his shoulder. They couldn't have it back! Not when he hadn't fixed anything yet. Someone screamed behind him and Derek tripped over a tree branch. An object flew out his hand and landed a few feet away. Derek reached over and gasped. No! It couldn't be broken! "I wasn't done yet!" he shouted---_

_**Don't stop, make it pop **_

_**DJ, blow my speakers up **_

_**Tonight, Imma fight **_

_**Till we see the sunlight **_

_**Tick tock, on the clock **_

_**But the party don't stop—**_

"Ugh," Derek groaned, trying to hit the snooze button. He blearily opened his eyes to a pitch-black room. What time was it anyway? He grabbed his cell phone. 2 AM?? What on earth? He hadn't set an alarm for 2 AM…

After a couple seconds of gathering his wits, he realized that it was probably someone calling him and not his alarm. Feeling a strange surge of hope, he quickly searched for the missed call screen. Hmm. Not a number he recognized. Meaning it wasn't Casey. Well that was slightly disappointing.

With a sigh, he hit redial.

"Queens mail center, how may we help you?" a cheery voice startled him.

"Um, you guys just called me…?"

"Oh, is this Derek Venturi?"

"That would be me," Derek yawned.

"Sorry to bother you, but we received a package for you."

"Couldn't this wait till the morning?" Derek demanded.

"It—it said deliver immediately," the girl said hesitantly. "We'll send it right up!" she hung up.

"Wait—" Derek groaned, hanging up. Great. He flipped on the T.V. for something to watch while he waited. A hockey game was on. He immediately turned it off. His grueling 5 AM hockey practices had made him somewhat despise the game.

At that second, there was a knock on the door. "Finally," Derek muttered to himself.

He swung it open.

There was no one there.

Derek frowned, looking up and down the silent hallway. What now?

As he was closing the door, he happened to glance down. He stopped short, staring at the small square box sitting at his door. He carefully picked it up and once again looked up and down the hallway. Silence.

Shrugging, he closed the door, turning the package around in his hands.

There was a small note attached to it and he extracted it. _To Derek. May this bring you true happiness. Happy Birthday! _

Derek rolled his eyes. True happiness? His family was so lame.

He opened up the package, and inside was a smaller, purple velvet box. Curiously, he opened it and peered at what was inside.


	3. Time

**Disclaimer: **I don't own LWD or any of its characters.

**Author's Note: **I'm so glad that you guys are loving the story so far. I gotta say, I'm really enjoying writing it. It's probably the most fun I've had writing a fanfic so far. And thank you so much for the awesome reviews! You guys are seriously the best! Anyway, let me know what you think :)

* * *

Derek stared at the object in the box.

A watch?

He gingerly took it out, examining it closely. It was a small clock hanging on a short golden chain. If he hadn't been so weirded out by the gift, he would've admitted that it was sort of beautiful—in an antique-y sort of way.

He turned over the object in his hands, the cold metal stinging his palms.

He ran a finger over the smooth glass, doing a double take when he looked at the numbers. It wasn't your usual run of the mill clock, that much he could tell. But what was it? Odd roman numerals circled the watch, along with some other symbols that he'd never seen before in his life. Strange. He stared at it for a few more seconds before he realized that neither the minute hand nor the second hand were running.

Hmm. Derek carefully felt around for some sort of clasp that would turn the watch on, but there was none. He snorted, putting the watch back in the box and tossing it onto his desk. His family couldn't even be bothered with sending him a _working _gift. That was just great. No doubt they had sent Edwin into the garage to find him a gift among the clutter of broken odds and ends they kept down there. Sometimes he really had to wonder just how much he was worth to his family. They always seemed to treat him as some huge...joke.

He crawled back into bed, determined to get some sleep, no matter how bad his day had been. He closed his eyes…

_Derek panted as he kept running. Trees flew by on both sides in the seemingly never-ending forest. He stopped near a huge rock, trying to catch his breath. He leaned heavily on the rock and shouted as suddenly the rock disappeared into the ground, opening a hole in the ground. A girl screamed—_

Derek's eyes flew open, his heart thudding in his chest. He bolted out of bed, looking around frantically. It took him a minute to realize that he was still in his room. Safe. He blew out a gust of air in relief—he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath. He slowly sat down and gulped down a glass of water, stretching his legs tiredly. It was strange, but he felt like he really had been running for miles.

He closed his eyes, trying to remember the dream…it had been so vivid. Flashes of the dream came back to him. Trees. A rock. Running…a girl's scream…

Derek frowned. Something about the girl's scream had seemed so familiar. She had sounded so scared…

Derek felt something slide down his face and he reached a finger up to his face. That was just great. He was actually _sweating _over this dream. He went over to his mirror, surprised to see the beads of perspiration on his forehead. He grabbed a towel and quickly wiped them off. "Chill," he told himself sternly. "It was just a dream." Then he realized he was talking to himself and snorted again. Guess crazy ran in the family. Or step-family. Whatever.

As he walked back to bed, he automatically picked up his gift to look at the time. Then he remembered that it didn't work and placed it down on his bed, picking up his cell phone. Huh? It was only 3 AM!? He'd felt like that dream had lasted for hours…

He sighed and had just slipped back into bed when his phone rang. Again. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Derek swore. He grabbed the phone and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Casey's name flash across the screen.

"Hello?" he said tentatively.

"Derek, it's me." Her voice was expressionless.

"Casey. How nice to hear from you." He purposely made his voice indifferently sarcastic to match her tone.

"Yes, well, I've just gotten off the phone with Emily—"

"At this hour!?"

"Derek, it's only 3 in the morning," Casey replied in a clipped tone. "This is usually the time I get back from the library. Well, anyway, Em said—"

"Is that safe?" Derek interrupted her, frowning. "Why can't you study in your room?"

Casey didn't say anything for a moment, and Derek was afraid she'd hung up. "It's just easier in the library, okay?" she sounded annoyed, though he couldn't imagine why.

"I don't think your mother would be particularly happy about you walking back to your dorm alone at 3 AM," Derek pointed out, a strange tightening in his chest.

"Drop the _brotherly _concern act," Casey said coldly, her voice once more expressionless.

Derek scowled into the phone, even though she couldn't see him. "Fine," he snapped. "What do you want?"

"Well, Emily informed me that it's your birthday, so—"

"Was."

"What?"

"It _was _my birthday. You're about 3 hours late," he informed her.

"Well, fine. But anyway, I just thought I'd say happy birthday."

Derek stared at the phone in stony silence.

"Derek?"

"So let me get this straight," Derek began. "Not only did you completely forget about my birthday, but _your _best friend had to remind you, and then _force _you to call me. At 3 AM. On the wrong day." He paused. "Did that sum it up for you?"

"Listen Derek, I was busy—"

"Oh yeah, real busy," Derek hissed.

"You're impossible!" she shouted. "Here I was, trying to do a nice thing—"

"Well I don't need any more of _your _favors," Derek retorted icily.

"Fine!" she slammed the phone down.

Derek's hand was shaking as he threw the phone across the room in anger. Who the hell needed her, anyway?

He stomped across the room and slammed his cell phone back on the table, next to the watch.

He stopped short and did a double take.

Slowly he picked up the watch, holding it by its golden chain so that it hung in front of his face.

The clock was ticking.


	4. Reflection

"_It doesn't belong to you!" a voice roared._

"_But it was given to me," Derek cried out desperately. _

"_It wasn't hers to give away. She will be punished."_

"_No! It wasn't her fault! She was only trying to help—"_

"_SILENCE!"_

_Derek fell silent as a burst of flames appeared in front of him. He stood, transfixed, as the fire made its way toward him. He felt something on his foot and looked down. He frowned in confusion as a tree branch poked him repeatedly –of it's own free will-. "That's odd," he said out loud. _

"What's odd?"

"Who is he talking to?"

"I dunno, man. Derek!"

Derek groaned and opened his eyes, squinting as the bright sunlight hit his eyelids. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Dude, has anyone ever told you that you're like impossible to wake up!? Sierra poked you in the foot like ten times and _nada." _

Derek groaned and sat up, staring at his roommate –Greg- who was standing there with his girlfriend, Sierra. "Um, hey," he said uncertainly. "What's up?"

Greg shrugged, grabbing a jacket. "Man, I came in here to get a couple books and you were trashing around in your bed like freakin Big Foot was after you or something. Must've been one hell of a nightmare."

"Oh, yeah…I was dreaming that, uh, some guy was chasing me. With a gun," Derek added lamely.

"Right," Greg said skeptically. "Well, I got class, so I gotta jet. See ya later."

"Bye," Derek yawned as he stumbled out of bed.

He couldn't tell you how he made it through the day. He walked around in a daze, and was only aware of bumping into people when they angrily shoved him back. Nor could he tell you what happened in any of his classes—though he distinctly remembered placing his head on the cool desk and dozing off multiple times.

By the time he got out his last class, it was 4 PM and he was making the trek to hockey practice. He held his cell phone in his hand, fully expecting a call any moment. Sure enough, his phone began vibrating.

"And how's my favorite girl?" he said into the phone, without looking at the caller I.D.

"I just got off the phone with Casey," Emily snapped. "How could you!?"

"Right," Derek said. "So we shouldn't bother with the courtesies?"

"Cut the crap, D."

"Look, I don't know what you're so upset about," Derek frowned. "This is between me and Casey."

"And Casey is _my _best friend. And _your _sister. And I'm _your _girlfriend!"

"I know all of this," Derek said patiently. And then--even though he knew it didn't matter to Emily or Casey- he said it anyway, "And make that _step-_sister."

"Whatever, Derek. The point is, Casey made a solid effort to fix things and you totally blew her off!"

"A solid effort!?" Derek repeated incredulously. "She only called because you made her!"

Emily was silent for a second and Derek took this as confirmation that his guess was right. "Be that as it may, she is _family _D! You can't hold these grudges against people you're supposed to care about!"

"Well that works out nicely because as it turns out, I don't care about that bitch!" Derek swore, his short temper flaring to the surface.

"You are one cold hearted jackass," Emily hissed. _Click. _

Derek took deep breaths to calm himself, but it didn't work. So, it was in a pissed off mood that he arrived at hockey practice. His mind always went completely blank when he was playing hockey –you can't concern yourself with other, less important, things when you play- but he could tell that his emotion was affecting his game.

By the time he knocked down the fourth guy, his coach was staring at him through slit eyes (no doubt thinking Derek was on drugs). Well, he couldn't bring himself to care what these people thought anymore. Honestly, he just wanted to get home and _sleep. _

As he was leaving, his buddy on the team shouted, "Yo D, you coming to dinner with us, man?"

Derek shook his head, "Nah, I'm beat. I'll see you guys tomorrow." The team nodded to him, some of them looking wary of him and others curious. Well. He didn't blame them.

He got out of the elevator in his building and started walking down the hallway when he suddenly got the feeling that someone was staring at him. He looked up and stopped short.

Casey.

She was standing in front of his door and was --get this—holding a large pizza box. She looked up as he approached. He stopped a few feet away from her and made a show of looking her up and down.

"My my, that's a lovely coat you have on there. Didn't know you could afford that on a student's budget," Derek said, staring at her long, white, expensive-looking wool coat.

She looked down at herself self-consciously. "It was a present."

"From Daddy?" Derek guessed and Casey pursed her lips.

Derek sighed, "What do you want, Case?"

"Um, I was wondering if- well, I mean—if you wanted to—"she swallowed visibly and started again. "Are you hungry?"

"Always," Derek said, grinning slightly. What was up with Casey, anyway? She looked darned nervous about something. He'd never heard her sound so flustered before. Usually she was the epitome of confidence…It was this thought, more than anything, that made him open the door and wave her in. She smiled at him gratefully and walked in slowly.

Derek sighed as he walked in after her and flipped on the lights. So much for going to sleep. He had a feeling this was gonna be a long night.

"Where's your roommate?" Casey asked, glancing over at Greg's side of the room.

"His girlfriend has an apartment," Derek explained as he tossed his stuff next to his bed and flopped into it tiredly. He looked up at Casey who was still standing in the middle of his room, looking unsure. "You can sit down, you know."

Casey nodded and took off her coat, carefully hanging it over his chair. He looked at her appreciatively. She was still beautiful. She was wearing a long, pale blue sweater paired with black tights. A thick black belt was wrapped around her waist, and her hair—"Did you get a hair-cut?" Derek demanded.

She touched her hair slightly, not smiling. "I did a couple months ago. It's growing out again though." She sat at the other end of his bed and put the pizza box in between them.

Derek stared at her for a few seconds before he sighed and grabbed a slice of pizza. He turned on the T.V. so he would have something else to stare at. They ate in silence. Derek had to say that he was surprised. After Emily's tirade, he had expected Casey to be just as furious. But she still seemed nervous, more than anything.

When they had finished the box, Casey promptly carried it over the trash. "You know, I expected your room to be a lot messier," she said thoughtfully. "It's actually pretty clean."

Derek rolled his eyes, "I'm glad I have your approval, Case."

She nodded absentmindedly and walked around his room, her eye landing on the gift he'd received. "What's this?" she asked, picking up the watch.

Derek raised his head from his pillow. "Oh that," he rolled his eyes. "My birthday present from _our_ dear family."

Casey looked confused, "What?"

He sat up in bed. "What's wrong?"

"We didn't—I mean, _they_ didn't send you this."

Derek frowned, "Of course they did. Who else would've sent it?"

"I don't know. But this isn't from them," Casey insisted.

"O-kay," Derek said slowly.

Casey began walking back toward him, still holding the watch, when she stopped at his mirror. Derek rolled his eyes. Here we go. He couldn't understand why some girls just loved to stare at their reflection all day. Get a life! He opened his mouth to tell her this, when she interrupted him.

"Hey, is this one of those funhouse mirrors or something?"

"If you look like a freak, Case, that's hardly the mirror's fault."

"Der-_ek!"_

Derek grinned to himself and started to get up from the bed. "What are you on about, Casey? It's a perfectly normal mirror—"

He stopped and frowned. He tilted his head slightly, staring at his mirror. It appeared to have…ripples or something in it. As he stared at it, his reflection became distorted and then disappeared completely.

"Whoa, trippy!" Casey said, reaching her hand out toward the mirror.

"Wait—"

Casey gasped in surprise as her hand reached the mirror…and kept going. She didn't know what happened but there was suddenly a huge sucking noise. She dropped the watch in shock.

"Casey!" Derek shouted.

But she was gone.


	5. Fairytale

**Disclaimer: **I don't own LWD or any of its characters.

**Author's Note: **HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope you all have an awesome year :) Thank you to everyone who's reading and reviewing this story! haha and so the adventure continues...

* * *

Derek stood frozen, his hand halfway stretched to the mirror.

What had just happened!?

Casey had been—but then, quite suddenly, she hadn't been. He could've sworn she'd been, well, _sucked _into the mirror.

Which was obviously crazy.

Derek wondered if he was high. Sure, he'd never touched the stuff, but wasn't it possible to get a contact high or something? _That must be it_, he reasoned. It was causing him to have hallucinations. That would explain Casey's presence in his dorm.

Or,maybe he was dreaming—sure, that had to be it. He'd read about how people wanted something so much that they proceeded to have a dream where it actually happened…But surely he hadn't wanted to see Casey _that _much. Or maybe he did…

Okay, so this definitely had to be a dream. Well, then it was definitely time to wake up. He grabbed a glass of cold water from his fridge and promptly threw it on his own face. He gasped as he felt every drop of the freezing water hit his skin. Hmm. Maybe it was just a _vivid _dream. He fell back on the usual dream-to-reality method and pinched his arm hard. He gritted his teeth. Well, that definitely hurt…Guess this being a bad dream was ruled out.

So, then where had Casey gone? He grabbed his cell phone, a sudden thought entering his head. She never went anywhere without her cell phone, right? So maybe he could call her…he quickly scrolled through his contacts and found her. He waited as the phone began ringing…

_**I want your love and I want your revenge**_

_**You and me could write a bad romance**_

_**I want your love and all your lover's revenge**_

_**You and me could write a bad romance—**_

Derek scowled and went over to Casey's jacket. He pulled out her cell phone with a frown. There went that idea. _But, _it did give him another idea. He could call someone to help him! But who to call...? For some reason, his little sister's face appeared in his mind's eye. He glanced at the clock. At least it wasn't too late to call the house.

He quickly dialed the house number and waited. On the 3rd ring, someone picked up.

"Hello?" George yawned.

"Hey Dad, it's me."

"Derek?" his father asked, instantly sounding more awake. "What's wrong? Are you in trouble?"

Derek frowned, "No…can't I call without something being wrong?"

George laughed, "Right. You _could_. But you wouldn't."

"Well you're wrong," Derek said, annoyed.

"Whatever you say, Derek." "Hey, are you talking to Derek?" Nora's voice asked. "Yeah, he just called—" "Ask him if he got our present!"

"Oh yeah. Hey, Derek—"

"I heard," Derek interrupted. "Did you guys happen to send me a broken watch?"

"Uh no," George said slowly, sounding confused.

"Okay, then no I did not," Derek said impatiently. "Hey, do you mind if I talk to Marti?"

"Not at all," George said, sounding surprised. "Marti, grab the phone upstairs! Your big brother wants to talk to you!"

"Got it!" Marti's voice answered after a second.

"Alright Derek, I'll leave you two to talk. Have a good night."

"Good night, dad." Derek waited till he heard George hang up the phone. "Hey Smarti!"

"Hi Smerek! Are you in trouble?"

Derek frowned. Why did everyone assume he was in trouble? "Nah Smarts," he hesitated. "I just wanted to tell you a story."

"Ooh, I love stories! What is it?"

"Okay, so…" Derek thought quickly. "Once upon a time there was a—a maid. She was really clumsy, but she, ah, worked really hard at her job so everyone liked her. These rich people hired her one day, but they warned her not to touch anything in their bedrooms. Well, when the maid was cleaning one day, she saw something shining through a crack in the door. She couldn't resist and opened the door. And even though she wasn't supposed to, she touched the mirror.

"Oh no, what happened to her!?"

"Well, see, it was a magical mirror…which is why no one was supposed to touch it. When she touched it, it opened right up and sucked her in!"

"Where did she go?" Marti asked excitedly.

"No one knows," Derek said in a hushed whisper. "The thing is, a handsome knight was riding by the house and he saw what happened…"

"Really? That's lucky."

"Right," Derek swallowed. "Um, so what do you think the knight should do?"

"Go after her, of course!" Marti said, sounding like that was the obvious answer...And maybe it was.

"But what if he didn't know what was on the other side of the mirror?" Derek asked nervously.

"Derek, I thought you said this was a _knight! _Aren't they supposed to be brave?"

Derek smiled to himself, "Yeah, you're right. They are."

"So, what happened next?" Marti asked impatiently. "Did he save her?"

Derek bit his lip. "You'll have to wait and see," he teased.

"Aw, Smerek!" Marti complained.

"Good night!" he grinned and hung up. But then he thought about what Marti had said and his smile faded. There was no question about it. He had to go in after her.

"Okay Derek," he told himself. "_Think. _Where could she have gone? Through the mirror certainly, but…" He ran his hands along the mirror, but his fingers only met smooth glass. Maybe she had touched something on his desk that would open it? He ran his hands along his desk and chair, but nothing happened.

He groaned in frustration and kicked out at nothing, but his foot connected with an object on the floor. His eyes narrowed and he slowly knelt down to look at the watch. Wait--the watch! Casey had been holding it! He picked it up and quickly looked in the mirror.

For a moment, nothing happened. "Come on! Open up!" he shouted angrily.

As if those were the magic words, suddenly his reflection began rippling again. He stared at it in shock. Okay, so maybe he wasn't crazy.

He reached a hand out toward it, but then pulled back again. He needed to be prepared. He grabbed his leather jacked and quickly pulled it on. Then he put the watch safely in his pocket.

_Here goes nothing_, he thought grimly. He bravely stuck his hand into the mirror and allowed himself to be sucked in.


	6. Guide

Derek landed roughly on his feet and stumbled before regaining his balance. He looked up to see where he'd fallen from, but –whatever it was- disappeared.

He could try to tell you what it felt like to be sucked into a mirror, but he'd be wasting his breath. It wasn't like those freaky time warp movies where someone gets sucked into a tornado-type vortex. No, this felt more like, well—almost like a vacuum. There had been a force pulling him in and then –quite abruptly- it had let him go.

And he'd landed here. Wherever "here" was. For the first time, Derek slowly looked around, taking in his surroundings.

Trees. Lots and lots of trees.

He was clearly in a forest. He winced, closing his eyes as flashes of his dream came back to him. _Running. In a forest. _The question was, was this the same forest as the one from his dream?

He snorted, as if he could tell the difference! All forests looked the same, didn't they? He scrunched up his face, trying to remember. Well…there had been that huge rock in his dream. But, he wasn't exactly sure that he wanted to go _looking _for this rock. After all, it had been a trick…which ended in him falling into a hole in the ground.

Yeah, not happening.

He looked around frantically. He couldn't believe Casey had disappeared already. Was it too much to ask that the girl just stay in one place? Yeah, probably.

If he knew Casey (and he liked to think he did) then no doubt she'd immediately gone off in search of someone to help her or to find out more about this place –whatever it was-.

Derek began walking down the path, scanning the trees constantly to make sure there was no one watching him. He had an odd sense that there was someone there, but he was going to chalk it down into sheer paranoia and let it go.

He kept walking when he suddenly stopped. See, the thing about being on the lookout is that you hear _everything_. And every sound in the forest seemed to magnified. Hell, even the simple sound of leaves swaying in the wind sounded like an army was marching through the trees.

Derek gritted his teeth. _Stop being such a baby. Think!_ Where would Casey go? And how could he find her? _Think…_Unconsciously, he stuck his hands in his pockets, his hand hitting a cold object.

Slowly he drew out the watch by its chain and held it up to his face, willing it to tell him something.

It was still ticking, but one of the hands on the watch was spinning crazily out of control. He frowned at it and lay the watch on his palm so that it was flat. The cool metal soothed his nerves somewhat, and he breathed easier, staring at it.

The watch slowed down and the minute hand stopped spinning and swung a few times around, as though trying to decide where to land. The watch almost seemed to pulsate in his palm, like it had a mind (or a heart) of its own. Derek swallowed as the watch made up its mind and both hands ended up pointing at one of the strange symbols.

Derek squinted at it, trying to figure out what it was. Four dots were arranged in a square, with a single line going straight down the middle. Well, what the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Somebody help me," Derek whispered desperately, clutching the watch in his hand and beginning to walk backwards. The watch began to pulsate even more strongly and Derek stared down at it. Both hands on the watch were quivering in place now, still pointing to the strange symbol.

Testing a theory, he began to move in a slow circle. A smile spread across his face when his theory was proven to be true. A compass! Or something like it, anyway. It was pointing out _directions! _He began walking in the direction the watch pointed at, and both hands immediately stopped quivering and relaxed, almost like they were telling him that was he going in the right direction.

Problem?

The way it wanted him to go led straight into the trees, and was very clearly _off _the main path. He'd once read somewhere (or more like Casey had read something and then told him about it) that if you were ever lost in the middle of nowhere, to _never _to go off the path.

He hesitated, looking from the path to the watch in his hand. What should he put his faith in? He bit his lip, still trying to decide when someone screamed.

"Casey?" Derek shouted, spinning wildly on the spot.

The girl (or guy, he couldn't tell), screamed again and Derek knew immediately that the sound was coming from the direction the watch pointed to.

Guess his decision had been made for him.

Without giving it a second thought, Derek began sprinting in the direction the scream was coming from. He leapt over logs, dodged tree branches, and shoved bushes out of his way. He reached a clearing in the woods and stopped, breathing heavily. He looked around, but he didn't see anything or hear anything that would help him.

He slumped down against a tree and sat down to catch his breath. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, trying to think. He simply just wasn't any good at this. He wasn't smart like Casey, he didn't have Sam's common sense, Ralph's humor, or even Emily's determination. He was probably the worst person to count on for anything.

He didn't know how long his sat there contemplating his own misery when there was a rustle in the leaves. He looked up quickly, his eye landing on a bright glow in front of him.

Derek slowly got up but stayed where he was as the glow became bigger and brighter. He squinted his eyes as the glow began to take the shape of a person –a girl-.

After a few moments, the bright light faded but the girl was still lightly glowing. She somehow looked both young and old at the same time. She was short, with long flowing hair, and a long dress. Her features were that of a child, probably only slightly older than Marti. But there was something in her face, probably in her eyes, that made her look like she'd been around forever. Derek suddenly knew the meaning of the term "wise beyond her years."

He stared at her cautiously, waiting for her to say something. She looked him up and down curiously, her eyes widening. He fought the urge to run and the girl's lips curved upwards slightly as though she knew what he was thinking.

She finally opened her mouth, "You are here to bring her back, yes?" The girl's voice was sweetly lilted, and friendly.

"W-what?"

"The beautiful girl. She belongs to you?"

"Casey?" Derek gave a short laugh, "I'm sure she'd say that she belongs to no one…"

The girl blinked at him. "But she is _yours_." It wasn't spoken as a question.

"Yes," Derek frowned. "Who are you?"

"A friend." The girl smiled at him and then spun around, her dress leaving a glowing circle around her so it looked like she was standing in the middle of a halo or something. "Call me Fay."


	7. Queen

"Fay," Derek repeated, watching as the girl started dancing around him. Her movements were fluid, like she wasn't even _trying _to move. He glanced down and noticed her feet barely seemed to be touching the ground.

Derek cleared his throat, "Right…so could you tell me where Casey is?"

"She has been captured," Fay replied, continuing to dance.

"WHAT!?"

"There is no need to shout," Fay said calmly. "You shall get her back."

"But—but who has her?" Derek sputtered.

"The queen."

Derek waited for Fay to elaborate, but she didn't say anything else. Derek gritted his teeth, "And where can I find this queen?"

"That's what I'm here for."

Derek narrowed his eyes, "You mean she sent you?"

"Oh no," Fay laughed. "I am not on her side. She will not be happy to know I am helping you."

Derek crossed his arms, "And what does the queen want with Casey?"

Fay shrugged, "The queen has her reasons. We do not ask."

"We?"

"Yes." Fay eyed him and then walked up to him and took the watch out of his hands. "This will help you. Keep it with you always. But _don't _show the queen."

"Why not?" Derek asked suspiciously.

"She wants it, but she mustn't be allowed to get it."

Derek stared from the watch to Fay and back to the watch. He opened his mouth but couldn't decide which question to ask and promptly shut it again. Fay smiled at him. "You must have many questions," she said kindly.

"Yeah, well—"

"But I am afraid I can not answer them right now," Fay cut him off. "We need to find Casey before it is too late."

"Too late? Too late for what!?" Derek demanded.

"No questions," Fay said, taking his hand and placing the watch in it carefully. The dial spun again, this time pointing straight ahead. Derek looked at the symbol—it looked like an upside down triangle on top of a line.

"So what do these symbols mean?" Derek asked as Fay began walking.

"All in good time," Fay replied, skipping along.

"I thought you were supposed to help me," Derek said, trying not to sound _too _accusing.

Fay turned to face him with wide eyes. "You want my help?" she asked brightly.

"Yes!" Derek shouted, throwing his hands into the air with frustration.

"Okay," Fay agreed. She moved so that she was standing directly in front of him. She took both of his hands within her own. "This might hurt," she warned, closing her eyes.

"Wait, what's gonna—ARRGHH—"

Derek shut his eyes tightly as his feet were wrenched from the ground. He opened his eyes for half a second and immediately shut them again, feeling sick. Everything was spinning rapidly— not to mention he was standing in mid-air.

After a minute, he landed on something hard, but he didn't move. Someone poked him. "Are you okay, Derek?"

Derek opened his eyes slowly, looking around. "Uh, yeah," Derek said shakily. "Where are we?"

"Sorry about that," Fay said apologetically. "I've never transported a mortal before. How'd I do?"

"Great," Derek said, blinking at her.

"Good," Fay said excitedly. "And now," she said taking his hand and leading him off the path, "you can save Casey." She led him through some bushes until they entered a clearing.

"Whoa," Derek said, as he took in the view. There was a castle—an actual castle!—sitting before him. It looked old and somehow medieval. "That's so cool," Derek said, walking toward it.

"Wait!" Fay protested, stepping in front of him.

"What?"

"You can't just go in there!"

"I thought you said Casey was in there?"

"Well, she is…"

'Then I'm going in there," Derek said, brushing by her.

"You love her." It wasn't a question.

Derek turned around to face her, frowning. "I have a girlfriend, you know."

Fay cocked her head, "Not Casey?"

"No."

"What's her name?"

"Emily."

"Do you love her?" This time, it was a question.

Derek didn't say anything, and shoved his hands in his pockets uncomfortably. Fay grinned at him. "It won't be easy getting her back," Fay said suddenly. "The queen will test you to make sure you are worthy."

"Worthy of what!?"

"Her attention," Fay replied, shrugging.

"Okay," Derek said, running a hand through his hair. "What kind of test?"

"That's for the queen to know," a smooth voice cut in. Derek whirled around to see a boy standing behind them. He was wearing a crown and purple robes. His eyes sparkled. Derek squinted. The dude's eyes were a deep shade of violet. How strange.

"I am the prince," he said, speaking in a deep voice. "And you two shall come with me immediately." Fay who had been slinking away, turned around. "Yes, you too Fay. The queen knows you have been helping the boy."

"Great," Fay muttered, following the prince back to the castle.

Derek glanced at the prince to make sure he wasn't looking and subtly zipped up the pocket on his jacket where the watch was hidden. The last thing he wanted to do was lose the thing. These people didn't seem to be too friendly.

"So where's Casey?" Derek asked conversationally.

The prince stopped and eyed him, "You have come for her?"

"Yes," Derek answered, frowning when he saw the possessive glint in the prince's eyes.

They walked into the castle and Derek shivered. It was beautiful, certainly, but the stone walls gave off a distinctly _cold _feeling. He felt something warm slip around his wrist and he looked down to see Fay holding on to him. He frowned when he realized that she looked less…glowy. Almost like her light was fading. "Hey, are you okay?" he whispered softly.

Fay looked up at him and he was startled to see the fear in her eyes. Was the queen that scary?

"Nari, they are here," the prince called and a figure appeared at the top of the stairs.

Derek looked up at her in awe. She was _beautiful. _She looked quite young (for a queen), probably not much older than Derek or the prince. She was wearing a deep blue dress adorned with many jewels, and a high crown. As she neared them, the prince bowed and Fay tugged slightly on Derek's arm, indicating that he should do the same. Derek half-bowed, not much liking the idea of showing respect to Casey's kidnappers.

The queen walked directly to Derek, looking him over. Derek stared back at her, noticing her eyes…they were a light blue, almost like ice. "You are here for the girl?"

Derek nodded, straightening. "I'm here for Casey, yes."

"I see," the queen mused. "Derek?"

"Yeah…?"

"Rest assured that Casey is safe and you will be able to see her soon." The queen's face hardened, "But first, I must know how you got here."

"I—I followed Casey," Derek answered, carefully not looking at Fay.

"Yes, but how did Casey get here?" the queen asked, leaning forward.

"I don't know."

"Right." The queen began circling him, "The thing you must know Derek, is that we keep this place a secret for several reasons. And believe me, it is a _well-kept _secret. Humans visiting us are far and few between."

Derek frowned, "Aren't any of you human then?"

"We are, for the most part, immortal," the queen answered. "Which is not to say that we cannot die...just not the same way as you humans."

"Why is this place such a secret?"

"Humans would mistreat it," the queen answered delicately. "You are all…selfish creatures. Always looking out for yourselves. Money. Riches. It's never enough, is it?"

"You're awfully young to be queen," Derek blurted out.

"My mother died recently, protecting the land from another human. I have taken over her duties," she replied, not showing any remorse.

"Nari?" Derek said, remembering how the prince had called her.

"Queen Narissa," she corrected with a smile. "Tristan, why don't you take Fay downstairs? I think I would like to talk to our friend Derek. Alone."

Derek turned around to watch the prince grab Fay's arm and pull her toward the stairs. "Where is he taking her?" Derek asked casually.

"No matter," the queen smiled at him. She snapped her fingers and a chair appeared behind Derek. "Sit," she said. When he didn't move, she reached out toward him. He felt a sudden weight on his shoulders and was forced to sit down. He looked up at her in surprise. So she had some power...

"There, now that you are comfortable." She stood in front of him and held out a hand. "Is there something you would like to give me?"

"Uh, no," Derek frowned, trying to look confused.

"I see," the queen said, though she didn't look happy. Keeping her palm open in front of him, she whispered a few words under her breath. A goblet appeared in her hand, filled with a red liquid.

"You must be thirsty after your long journey," Nari said, handing him the goblet. "Drink up."

Derek took it, aware that she was watching his every move. Contrary to what many people thought, he wasn't stupid. He lifted it to his lips and moved it away again. "Actually, I'm not that thirsty—" he began.

"Don't be ridiculous. Drink it." It was clearly an order.

"I don't want to."

A look of annoyance flashed across her face. "Either you drink it of your own free will or I will _make _you drink it."

"Tell me where Casey is," Derek said desperately. "Then I'll drink it."

"I am the queen," she said coldly. "I don't make negotiations."

She lifted her hand and Derek watched helplessly as the goblet was forced to his lips.

* * *

***what do you think so far? this chapter was a little heavy on the fantasy aspect, but we shall get to some dasey-ness soon :) reviews please. **


	8. Test

**Author's Note: **Thank you as always to everyone reading and reviewing this story! It means a lot to me. I'm glad so many people have decided to be open-minded to the idea of a Dasey fairytale, so to speak :)

* * *

Derek supposed he should be grateful for his hockey obsession—after all, when you're playing the game, you need to be quick on your feet (no pun intended). You had to be able to think quickly and make rash decisions based on instinct.

With skills born of hockey practices, Derek spent only two seconds figuring out his situation. 1) he couldn't move his hand, but 2) he _could _move the rest of his body.

Barely thinking about what he was doing, he kicked the legs of the chair hardso that it toppled over backwards (with him in it). As he fell to the floor with a bang, the queen became distracted –as he'd hoped- and lost her concentration. The goblet crashed to the floor. Derek backflipped off the floor and ran, not looking back.

"GUARDS!!" he heard Nari shriek. Derek sprinted down the stairs where he'd seen Tristan take Fay. He jumped down the last few steps and ran down a short hallway before hitting a circle of doors. _Which one to take? _He shrugged and ran toward the door right in front of him. It slammed shut behind him and he found himself in a darkened stone-walled hallway.

Well, at least he didn't see anyone. He ran down the seemingly ever-lasting hallway until he reached another door. He had just reached out a hand to open it when—

"And just where do you think you're going?" a cold voice asked, sounding amused.

Derek turned around, panting. Nari was standing behind him, her face expressionless. She was neither out of breath nor was a hair out of place. Derek mentally shook his head to clear it. Her beauty was rather distracting. Nari smiled slightly as though she knew what he was thinking, but she didn't say anything.

"How did you find me?" Derek demanded.

"I could sense you," Nari said delicately.

"_Sense _me?"

"Yes. Humans have lost this gift," she said, with faint disdain.

Derek finally caught his breath, "Look, what do you people want from me? I just want to get Casey and _get out."_

For the first time since their initial meeting, Nari looked interested. "You mean to say that you have no interest in our riches?" she asked, sweeping an arm around them to indicate the castle.

"_No," _Derek responded adamantly. "I just want Casey back."

Nari narrowed her eyes, "And what is she to you?"

"She's my—my…" Derek hesitated, remembering Emily's words from their last fight: "_Be that as it may, she is __family __D! You can't hold these grudges against people you're supposed to care about!"_

"She's family," Derek finally settled on, deciding it was closest to the truth.

"Family?" Nari asked, sounding pleasantly surprised. "So she is related to you?"

"Not—eh, something like that," Derek shifted uncomfortably. He looked Nari straight in the eye, "She means a lot to me, okay?" And suddenly getting an idea from thinking about Emily, he went on, "And before you get any ideas, I have a girlfriend who is waiting for me back home. If I don't come back soon then she's gonna show up in my dorm room and figure out what happened. Then you'll have a whole bunch of _humans _storming the place."

Nari frowned, "Don't be ridiculous." But Derek saw with some satisfaction that she looked a little worried. In any case, her usually smooth demeanor changed for half a second.

"You have a girlfriend?" a deep voice asked, and Derek turned around to see Tristan walk out of the shadows. Derek frowned, where had this guy come from?

"What's it to you?" Derek answered rudely. For some reason, he really did not like this guy.

"Trist, our little friend here has just told me that Casey is his _family." _

Tristan perked up instantly, "Family, huh?"

"Where _is _Casey?" Derek interrupted.

"All in good time," Nari said coolly.

"I promise we won't tell anyone about this place—and we won't come back here ever again," Derek pleaded.

The queen smiled at him, "My dear boy, we are not concerned about exposure. We have ways of making you forget."

"Is that what the drink was for?" Derek asked hesitantly.

"No," Nari answered shortly, looking annoyed.

"Should I get the tests ready?" Tristan asked, eying Derek with open dislike.

"Oh yes," Nari answered absentmindedly. "Put him in the dungeons until you're ready."

"The dungeons!?" Derek protested, but Tristan had already grabbed his arm and was pulling him down yet another hallway. "I can walk on my own," Derek hissed.

Tristan paid him no attention and Derek shut up when he saw Fay sitting in the corner of a cell. "I'll be back for you," Tristan said with a nasty smile as he pushed Derek in and locked the door behind him.

"Derek!" Fay cried, running up to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Derek answered, returning Fay's hug briefly. "What about you?"

She shook her head and Derek was unnerved to see that she looked almost human now—the glow had faded completely. "Don't worry about me, they just locked me up in here." She looked up at him with wide eyes, "Did you drink the truth serum?"

Derek frowned, "The red stuff? No, I just got away from it."

Fay looked confused, "Red stuff? No, no the truth serum is a clear liquid…"

Derek shrugged, not particularly worried. "Then, no. But that doesn't matter now, how do we get out of here?" he asked urgently.

"You will have to pass the tests," Fay said nervously. "Derek, do you still have the watch?"

Derek patted his jacket pocket. "Yeah, they don't know about it," he whispered.

"It will help you on the tests," Fay said quietly. "Don't lose it."

"But I don't even know how to use it!"

Fay's eyes darted to the door before she answered quickly, "You've already figured out half of it out. It can be used as a compass. It knows your heart's desire. It will point you in the direction you have to go."

Derek heard footsteps echoing from beyond the door. "And what about the symbols?" he breathed.

"The symbols will change according to what lies in your future," Fay answered. "If you can figure out what the symbol represents, then you will be prepared for what is in store for you."

"What—" Derek broke off as the door flew open and Tristan stepped in.

"Right this way Derek," he said waving him out the door. "Fay, you're to stay here."

Derek followed the guards grudgingly back up the stairs where the queen was waiting next to a stool. There was a large silver bowl sitting on the stool. Derek eyed it apprehensively.

Nari smiled at him, "No need to be nervous, Derek."

"What's that, then?" Derek asked, nodding toward the silver bowl.

"There will be three tests," the queen said, apparently choosing to ignore his question. "If you pass them all, you and Casey will be free to leave."

"But what's the point of keeping us here in the first place?" Derek asked desperately.

"We do not get many humans here," Nari said slowly. "And the immortal race is dying out..." She didn't say anything else, but Derek understood. So _that's _why Tristan had been so interested in Casey.

Nari eyed him and moved so that she was standing directly in front of him. Derek fought to look her in the eye, but she was so breathtaking that he decided to focus on a spot on the floor instead.

The queen laughed and took his face in her palms. She leant forward and placed a cool kiss on his lips. Derek shivered, and Nari laughed again. "I _do _hope you make me proud, Derek." She led him over to the silver bowl. Derek stared into it…it was filled with a sort of shimmery silver liquid.

"When you put your hand into this bowl, you will begin the first test. Whatever happens in it, remember that it _is _real," Nari said softly. "Some people have a habit of forgetting…"

Derek had decided that asking questions wasn't going to help him at this point so he walked over and placed his hand over the bowl. When Nari nodded, he bravely stuck his hand into the liquid. At first, nothing happened. But then he gasped in surprise as the liquid began bubbling around his hand. He felt something jerk him forward and he fell…_into _the bowl. And kept falling. And falling.

He kept his eyes closed, aware that he had entered some sort of vortex. When he felt himself land on solid ground, he slowly opened his eyes.

And looked around in open-mouthed shock.

He was back in his room. That's right, his _dorm room. _He was actually back!

He cautiously walked around. Everything _seemed _to be the same. It was like he had never left. Except…hmm. Casey's stuff that had been sitting on his chair was mysteriously missing.

Derek grabbed his cell phone and called his house. George picked up.

"Hello?"

"Dad!"

"Derek? What's wrong? Are you in trouble?"

"Very funny," Derek said impatiently. "Listen, I was wondering if you'd heard from Casey recently?"

"Casey? Is that one of your girlfriends? Really, Derek, I've told you not to give the house number out—"

"Are you joking?" Derek demanded, a sick feeling in his stomach.

"What is there to joke about?" George asked, sounding confused.

Derek dropped his phone and rushed over to his dresser, rummaging frantically through it. He found what he was looking for and pulled out the family picture that he'd brought with him to college. The sick feeling in his stomach intensified as he stared at the picture.

Casey was no longer in it.

He'd entered a world where Casey didn't exist.


	9. Double

**Author's Note: **Hope you guys are liking the story so far! It's been really fun to write!! And thanks again to all my reviewers, you guys rock! Enjoy ;)

* * *

Derek fought to stay calm. _Don't panic. _

Okay. He had to go about this logically. That's what Casey would do. _If she was here, _he added to himself silently.

All he had to do was pass this…test…and then he'd get Casey back. Now, what exactly _was _the test? Couldn't the queen have given him some damn instructions or something?

Derek thought quickly. So, Casey wasn't here. Maybe he had to figure out how the world was different without the presence of his dear step-sister? That sounded possible. Hmm…

_**Don't stop, make it pop, DJ blow my speakers up—**_

"Hello?"

"Derek, how dare you hang up the phone when I'm talking to you—" his dad ranted.

"Sorry, sorry," Derek said hastily.

"Now WHAT is going on over there? I've never heard you sound so panicked…over some girl, is it?"

"She's not _some girl," _Derek said through gritted teeth.

"You haven't gotten her pregnant, have you?" George demanded.

"Dad!" Derek bellowed.

"Okay, okay. Just checking," his dad muttered. "Oh, your sister wants to talk to you."

"Lizzie?" Derek asked eagerly.

George gave a short laugh. "Like you and Lizzie have ever talked before!" he chuckled, "No, I meant Marti."

"Okay," Derek said slowly. _He wasn't on speaking terms with Lizzie? That was odd…he'd never had a problem with her before…_

"Smerek!"

"Hiya Smarti," Derek answered, grinning. _Well at least some things never changed. _

"You never finished your story," Marti complained.

Derek frowned. Hadn't he started the story earlier today? How long had he been trapped on the other side of the mirror, anyway? He glanced at the date on his cell phone and his mouth dropped open in surprise. It was the next day! He'd been there a full 24 hours! He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. He hadn't realized that time would move differently there. Apparently a few hours in that world equaled nearly a full day over here. Okay…so that meant that Casey had fallen into the mirror _yesterday, _which was also when he'd told Marti the "story."

"Oh yeah," Derek said slowly. "I'll tell you more of it right now!"

"Okay," Marti agreed happily. "So did the knight go to rescue her?"

"Yes he did...but by the time he got there, the maid had already been captured by the evil queen!"

Marti gasped, "Did he find her?"

"Luckily, a little fairy saw him and showed him the way to the castle. When he got there, the queen told him that if he ever wanted to see the maid again, he had to pass three tests."

"What kind of tests?" Marti asked interestedly.

"Well first," Derek whispered, "the knight was sent into an alternate universe where this maid didn't exist."

"What did he have to do there?"

"Wish I knew," Derek muttered.

"What?"

"Um, what do you think the test was?" Derek asked quickly.

"I don't know," Marti mused. "Maybe he had to prove his love for the maid?"

Derek choked, "Whoa, whoa. No one said anything about the knight loving the maid!"

"But he has to," Marti said in an obvious tone. "Why else would he go after her?"

"Because—because," Derek sputtered. "You said yourself, he's a knight! He was _supposed _to save her!"

"But he only saved her because he loved her," Marti repeated stubbornly.

Arguing with an 8 year old over the meaning of a fairy tale was not Derek's idea of a good time.

"Sure! Okay, yeah," Derek said quickly. "Um, anyway, I gotta go!"

"Wait!" Marti protested. "Did he pass the test?"

"We'll see," Derek said under his breath.

"What?"

"You'll have to wait and see!" Derek said in a teasing voice. "Bye Smarti!" He hung up before she had a chance to protest again.

Okay. So apparently he had to prove…something.

He was stumped.

All of a sudden, he was overcome with an incredible weariness. He really just wanted to _sleep. _He yawned, trying to fight the fatigue. _Well, maybe a quick nap wouldn't hurt._

He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes...

"_Derek…Derek!...DER-EK!" _

"Wha-what?" Derek got up and looked wildly around. He could've sworn he'd heard Casey's voice somewhere. As he looked up, his gaze happened to fall on the mirror. It was shimmering.

He got up slowly, his mouth dropping open when he looked into it.

Casey.

"_Well, it's about time," she snapped. _

"Is this a—a dream?" Derek asked.

"_Yes…and no." She hesitated, "I'm not really here, if that's what you're asking."_

"Clearly, seeing as how you're in my mirror, Princess," Derek said sarcastically. Then he frowned, noticing the small crown she was wearing and the jewels around her neck. "And I guess I mean that literally. What's with the get-up, Case?"

_She touched her crown self-consciously. "These were a gift. From Tristan." _

"And of course you had to wear them," Derek snapped. "You know, I just got finished telling the dear queen how we _weren't _interested in her riches!"

"_I'm not," Casey insisted. "But I didn't want to hurt his feelings…"_

"Feelings!?" Derek shouted, "Is that why you gave Truman so many chances!? Because you didn't want to hurt his _feelings!?" _

"_That's not fair, Derek. You're the one that told me to give him another chance—"_

Derek couldn't believe what he was hearing, "WHAT?"

"_This isn't important right now," Casey said impatiently. "Do you have the watch?"_

"Yes—wait, how'd you know about that?" Derek asked suspiciously. "Hey, you're not the one who sent it to me, are you?" Casey's look of disgust was enough of an answer for him. "Okay, okay," he said hastily, "Just checking. What—wait, why are you fading?" Derek asked, noticing her reflection was becoming less defined, more blurry.

"_The magic must be wearing off," Casey said quietly, almost to herself. "Your friend, Fay, helped me out with some of her powers. She said it wouldn't last long though…"_

Derek's heart began beating fast. "Don't go," he blurted out. "I don't know how to save--" he caught himself. "I don't know how to get you back!"

"_The watch is the key," Casey said, her voice echoing. "Don't forget—"_

"Don't forget _what!?" _Derek shouted, but her reflection wavered and then disappeared.

Well, that was just great.

And then Derek woke up.

It took him a minute to realize that Casey must've somehow forced him to fall asleep so that she could talk to him. He rubbed his eyes as he got up. What had he learned from her? The watch…was the key. Okay.

He pulled the watch from his jacket and stared at it. It was once again "broken." But the two symbols that it had pointed to before were still there. He had a feeling that he had to figure out what they meant before he could do anything else.

Alright, so the first symbol had been the four dots arranged in a square with the straight line going down the middle. Fay had said that each symbol told him what lay in his future. Since he'd gotten a second symbol after that one, presumably the four dots thing had already happened…so where had he gone after he'd seen that symbol?

He'd run into Fay, but that symbol didn't quite resemble a person…then, they'd gone to the castle. Hmm, he supposed that the square _could _represent a building, but the castle wasn't really _square-shaped, _per se. And then what would the line represent? No, that wasn't it. He thought hard, trying to remember. Square…lines…His head snapped up, the jail cell! That had been a square, and the line could represent the bars! That had to be it! He smiled, giving himself a mental pat on the back.

Feeling better, he decided to tackle the second symbol while he was on a roll. Okay, an upside-down triangle on top of a line. That looked like…a wine glass? No, that couldn't be right. Derek stared at it for a few seconds, but the image of a wine glass refused to leave his mind. A glass…a drink. He could really use a drink…A drink! The goblet!

Derek grinned. Score! It _had _to represent the goblet. Alright, now all that was left to do was see what the next symbol was and try to figure it out. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. _Think about what you really want. _

Casey's face swam to the front of his mind's eye. Keeping her face in mind, he held out his palm and placed the watch in it. Immediately, both hands began ticking frantically, spinning around. He watched, awed, as all the symbols began changing until they were a mere blur.

After a few seconds, the watch slowed down and both hands pointed at a new symbol. Derek studied it. It looked like two stick figures, holding hands. Derek had a vague feeling that one of them was a boy and the other was a girl, even though they both looked the same. Okay, he could work with this. The boy was probably himself, and the girl was…Casey? But that didn't help him…

_Think logically, _a voice scolded. Derek frowned. Sheesh. Leave it to Casey to haunt him even when he was awake.

"Okay Derek," he said to himself. "All the other symbols were sort of obscure, so this one shouldn't be obvious either." After all, two people holding hands could represent a lot of different things. It could be love…or even friendship.

Marti's words came back to him, _"Maybe he had to prove his love for the maid?"_

Well that was going to be difficult. How was he supposed to _prove _it? NOT that he loved her or anything, but maybe he should pretend to…it _was_ for her own good.

He supposed he ought to sit down and figure out what to do, but a part of him really wanted to see what the world was like _without _Casey. Would it really be that different? From the looks of it, no one even remembered her. Not knowing what he was doing, he grabbed his jacket and decided to go for a walk.

He reached the lobby of his building, which was deserted except for a few stragglers. "Where is everyone?" he said out loud.

A couple guys waiting by the elevators looked up. "Homecoming game," one of them called back. "Down by the field."

Derek nodded, "Thanks, man. Maybe I'll check it out." He couldn't explain to himself what he was doing but he walked towards the doors to leave. As soon as he opened it, a girl walked straight into him.

"Ohmygod, I'm so sorry!" she said, crouching down and grabbing all her books, which had fallen.

"My fault," Derek said absentmindedly, picking up a notebook which had fallen by his feet.

"Thanks," she muttered, not looking at him as she hurriedly grabbed all her books.

"Late night at the library?" Derek joked.

"Actually, yeah," the girl admitted, brushing her hair out of her face and finally looking up at him.

Derek's mouth dropped open.

Casey.


	10. Second

"Casey!" Derek gasped. "You're alright!"

The girl looked behind her and then looked back at Derek, looking very confused. "Are you talking to me?"

"Aren't—aren't you Casey?" Derek faltered.

"Um, sorry, I think you must have me confused for someone else," the girl said with a smile. "My name's Cassidy."

"Cassidy," Derek repeated slowly. He looked her up and down carefully. She looked _exactly _like Casey, except…Derek frowned. It was as though someone had tried to make a clone of Casey but had left a few deliberate mistakes, flaws. Her hair was much longer than Casey had ever left it, her cheeks weren't as rosy, her lips—

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Cassidy asked, looking self-conscious.

Derek blinked, "Sorry. I just—I mean, you remind me of someone I know."

"And here I was, thinking I was unique," Cassidy said.

Derek couldn't tell if she was kidding or not.

"Well, I'll just get out of your way, shall I?" Cassidy said, inching forward pointedly.

"Oh!" Derek quickly got out of her way and held the door open for her. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of your late-night study sesh."

Cassidy gave him a Look, "And where are you off to, then?"

Derek shrugged, "The game, I guess." And he didn't know what made him do this, but he added, "I would invite you to come if you didn't look like such a keener."

Cassidy raised her eyebrows challengingly, "Too afraid to ask me, then?"

"I'm not afraid of a girl!" Derek retorted, caught up in the way her eyes lit up the same way Casey's did when they were arguing.

"Prove it."

"Okay, come with me to the game!"

"That's hardly the proper way to ask a girl out," Cassidy yawned. "I think I'm just gonna head back to my room—"

"Was that an invitation?" Derek grinned, unable to resist.

Cassidy gasped, her cheeks coloring. "It was _not!"_

"I was kidding," Derek said hastily. He took a deep breath, "But I would really like it if you came to the game with me." He smiled at her winningly.

Cassidy looked him over and rolled her eyes, "Well, alright then."

"Great," Derek said happily, leading the way out the door. They walked in silence for a while, and Derek bit his lip. He had a million questions to ask her, but he wasn't sure which one to ask first.

"You know you never told me your name," Cassidy pointed out.

"Oh! Sorry…it's Derek. Venturi. And you're Cassidy…?"

"King. Cassidy King."

"That's funny. I have a car called the Prince," Derek mused. Cassidy gave him an odd look and Derek shrugged. "So where do you and your family live?"

"I live with my dad not too far from here."

"Any brothers or sisters?"

"Nope. What about you?"

"Um, one brother and one sister. And…one step-sister."

"Wow, big family," Cassidy commented. "Do you ever get sick of them?"

"Sometimes…but I wouldn't give them up for the world," Derek admitted.

"That's sweet," Cassidy said with a smile. "You seem like a good guy Derek Venturi."

Derek felt a pang. "_Because deep down, you're a good guy Derek Venturi…" _He could almost picture Casey saying those exact words…It had happened so long ago.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost," Cassidy was saying.

"Uh, nothing, sorry. I'm just not good at the whole compliments thing," Derek fibbed.

"Really? Because you seem like the kind of guy that _loves _to be told how awesome he is," Cassidy grinned.

"Now where did you get that idea?" Derek teased.

"Oh, just a hunch," she drawled. "Come on, let's go find seats," she nodded toward the bleachers. Derek followed her and they found some seats near the back. Derek rubbed his hands together to keep himself warm. Damn, it was cold.

"Some weather, huh?" Cassidy yelled over the wind howling and people cheering.

"Yeah…"

"Don't you want to keep me warm?" she asked suggestively, huddling closer to him.

Derek frowned. Casey would never say that. Guess they weren't as similar as he'd originally thought. "Uh, sure," he replied, realizing that she was waiting for his response.

He slid an arm over her shoulders and she cuddled close him. Derek looked away. It _felt _like he was holding Casey…or what he'd imagined holding Casey would feel like…

"Are you okay?"

Derek turned his head to face her and was startled to see her face inches away looking up at him. Derek cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'm fine." He started to turn away again, but she held a hand up to his face, keeping him turned towards her. She began to close the distance between them. Derek's eyes flickered between her face and her lips. They looked _so _alike…and he'd always wanted to know what kissing Casey felt like—

He pulled back.

"What's wrong?" Cassidy asked, looking annoyed.

Derek removed his arm from her shoulders. "But you're not _her…"_ he trailed off.

Abruptly, the scene before him churned and Derek felt himself being pulled backwards. "What the—" he gasped as everything began spinning. A force knocked into him and he fell—

Onto a rich, carpeted floor.

"Ow," he muttered as he got up, quickly realizing he was back in the castle. Nari and Tristan were standing in the exact spots they'd been when Derek had been sucked into the vortex.

"Derek," Nari said pleasantly. "Congratulations."

"For what?"

"You passed the first test," Tristan replied, his voice expressionless.

"I—I did?" Derek rubbed his neck, feeling sore. "Er, what exactly was it?"

"You _didn't _kiss the girl," Nari said, now looking positively thrilled. "She may have looked and acted as Casey, but deep down you knew she wasn't."

"Oh..."

"We knew she wasn't your family," Nari added with a smile. "We knew that the minute Casey showed up at our door screaming your name…Seemed to think it was your fault she was here."

"Of course she did," Derek snorted. "Speaking of Casey…"

"All in good time," Nari cut in. "But now it is time for the second test."

"Can't I just see her?" Derek pleaded. Now that he'd seen someone that _looked _like her, it just made him want to see the _real _her more.

"I'm afraid not," Nari replied, not looking the least bit apologetic. "Did you see your girlfriend?"

"What?" Derek asked, thrown off guard.

"You said you had a girlfriend in your world," Nari said, with an odd smile. "Did you see her?"

"No," Derek said slowly. "I didn't have time…"

"Of course not," the queen said briskly, though she looked oddly satisfied about something. "Now Derek, I feel like I should warn you about this second test," she hesitated.

"What?" Derek asked, noticing Tristan throw a glare in Nari's direction.

"The first test was the present world as it would be without Casey's presence," she began.

"I figured that out," Derek replied, wondering where this was going.

"The second test will take you into the future," the queen warned. "I just want you to be prepared—"

"I think that's _quite _enough information, my queen," Tristan cut in, looking angry. He strode over to Derek and without so much as a warning, shoved him face-first into the shimmery liquid.

Derek choked as he flew head first into the vortex. He tried to keep his eyes open to see where he was going, but everything blurred together sickeningly. But, he surprisingly landed on his feet at the end.

He looked around and then looked down at himself. He was wearing a tux. That was odd. Then he looked up and realized he was standing in front of a church. What, had the queen sent him to Casey's funeral or something? He hadn't been expecting _that_ muchof a jump into the future…

"_Derek!" _a voice hissed.

Derek turned around to see a little girl wave to him from behind a bush. Derek frowned and walked toward her as she waved him over. "Do I know—" he broke off, the girl looked somewhat familiar. "Fay!?" he exclaimed. "Is that you?"

"Derek, I wanted to warn you—"

"Yeah, yeah, the queen already told me that this is the future—"

"I know who sent you the watch," Fay interrupted.

Derek looked at her, surprised. "Was it you?"

She shook her head, "No, but I just talked to the person that did. She knew what would happen if she sent it to you…she wanted you to experience _this._"

"Experience what?" Derek asked, totally lost.

"Derek, you've made a lot of mistakes," Fay whispered, looking around. "This is supposed to be your chance to fix them."

"Mistakes," Derek repeated.

"Just trust me," Fay said softly. "When you go in there…know what you have to do."

Derek backed away, shaking his head. He had absolutely no idea what Fay was talking about. He hadn't made any mistakes...had he?

Derek followed a group of people into the church, noticing that none of them were wearing black. He frowned. Was this not a funeral, then?

Derek cautiously entered the main hall, looking around.

"Ah, here he is!" someone clapped him on the shoulder.

Derek whirled around. "Sam!" he said in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we?" a voice called, and Derek turned to his father walking toward him, looking hassled. "Honestly, Derek. Couldn't you turn up on time for this?"

"For…what?" Derek asked, confused, as he spotted the rest of his family frantically walking around. They were all dressed up; the men in tuxes and the women in expensive dresses.

"How's the speech coming along, then?" Sam asked, clapping him on the shoulder again.

"Speech?"

"Derek, you _better _have written a good speech," someone behind him threatened. Derek turned to see Lizzie, looking harassed. "She'll kill you if you make a joke out of this!"

"Lizzie, is she freaking out yet?" Nora asked, looking worried.

"What else is new?" Lizzie answered, looking annoyed. "Maybe Derek should go talk to her."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Nora agreed hurriedly. "Derek, why don't you go in there?"

"Um…" Derek trailed off as Nora led him down a corridor and knocked on the door at the end.

"Honey? Derek's here to see you."

"Alright, send him in."

Derek's heart rose at the sound of Casey's voice. Nora opened the door and shoved him in. "Uh, thanks," Derek muttered. Then he turned around to see Casey.

"Derek, it's about time," Casey snapped. "Help me with my dress, would you?"

He stared at her.

She was wearing a gorgeous, flowing white dress.

She was getting married.


	11. Wedding

Derek could only stare in shock.

Casey –_his _Casey—was getting married. What kind of messed up future was this, anyway?

"Der-_ek!" _she complained. "You're already late, could you just help me zip up my damn dress!?"

"Sorry," Derek said hastily, and quickly zipped up the back of her dress, being careful not to actually touch her skin.

Casey seemed oblivious to his discomfort, and went back to admiring her reflection in the mirror. "What do you think?" she asked.

"It's—" Derek's voice caught, "You're beautiful."

"You know, I was afraid you weren't gonna show up. I mean I know you were never a fan of Truman, but—" she chattered on. Derek stopped listening. What did Truman have to do with any of this?

"How's my bride?" a deep voice asked from behind the door. An all-too-familiar voice. Derek's heart sank.

"Don't come in here, Truman!" Casey squealed. "It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding!"

Derek stared at the door in disbelief. _As if this wasn't enough bad luck!_

Truman laughed, "Alright, alright. Just checkin' to make sure you were okay."

"Derek's here," Casey said, as if that explained everything.

"My best man! Cool, so all's running on schedule."

"Okay, I'll see you out there soon," Casey called back.

"Love you."

"Love you, too," Casey cooed.

Derek felt like he was going to be sick. As soon as Truman's footsteps disappeared, he rounded on Casey. "You're marrying Truman!?" Derek hissed.

Casey looked bored, "I knew the Derek freak-out would be coming up soon. Let me save your breath, D. I don't care what you have to say, alright? If I had it my way, you wouldn't even be a part of this wedding!"

"What!?" Derek said in disbelief.

"Truman seemed to think I'd regret it if I didn't invite you to this wedding," Casey said dismissively. "As if he knows anything…"

Derek sank down onto the sofa and watched Casey put on makeup. "So, you don't want me here," Derek stated, wondering if the future could get any worse.

"Well, it's not like I really had a choice in the matter," Casey sighed. "I mean, you are married to my best friend—and she _had _to be here so…"

Derek's heart sank even lower. He glanced at his hand and clenched his teeth when he saw the wedding ring on this finger. Oh god, he couldn't possibly have married—

"Casey, darling, you okay in there?" a voice called before knocking.

"Yeah, come on in Em!" Casey called back.

Emily walked in, wearing a slinky golden dress. If Derek hadn't been so pissed off, he would've admitted that she looked _hot__. _"Derek!" she exclaimed. "You decided to come!" She walked over and kissed him lightly.

"Yeah," Derek replied. "Though apparently Casey doesn't want me here."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Look, me and Truman talked about this. It was a big mistake that Casey wasn't at _our _wedding, D. Let's not make the same mistake again, okay?" Derek nodded mindlessly and Emily smiled at him. "Okay, I'm gonna go and make sure everything's running smoothly out there. You guys just chill in here till it's time."

"Sure thing, Em," Casey said, now applying mascara.

Derek stared at her as the door shut behind Emily. "Are you sure Truman will be able to see you underneath all that makeup?"

Casey tossed him a glare, "Don't start with me, Derek."

Derek was taken aback. What had happened to their good old-fashioned teasing days? And speaking of which, why was Casey acting like she _hated _him? They had been friends –sort of—so what had gone wrong?

"Can I ask you something?"

"_What?" _

"Are we—" Derek hesitated, "Would you say we were friends?"

Casey laughed, "Hell no! When were we ever friends!?"

Derek frowned, "College?"

Casey stopped laughing, and was now looking at him suspiciously. "You're not drunk, are you?"

"No…?"

"Derek, we never even talked in college, what on earth are you on about?"

"But what about that night—" Derek began, but then stopped.

He had to think about this.

So, this was the future.

A future in which he and Casey were not friends.

…meaning that night that she had come over to visit hadn't ended well. Derek apparently had never broken up with Emily, and had gone on to _marry _the girl. Casey had somehow gotten back together with the scum of the earth, better known as Truman.

Derek couldn't understand it. When had everything gone so horribly wrong?

_Okay, so our little adventure in that weird world never happened. I never got the watch as a gift…and I never got to fix my mistake. _Derek mulled over these thoughts as he watched Casey getting ready. _And now Casey's acting like we're complete strangers. _

Derek swallowed. He'd never realized how much he counted on Casey to _be_ _there _for him_. _And now that she wasn't, he realized he missed her horribly.

"Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"You like you're off in another world," Casey snapped. "Did you finish writing your best-man speech?"

Derek patted his pockets on the pretense of looking for his speech. "Oh, I must've left it outside," he lied. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Casey said, turning back to the mirror. Derek fought not to roll his eyes. The old Casey would've been in full freak-out mode right now if this had been her wedding day. But the new, _Truman-inspired_ Casey was content to merely stare at her mirror. It made him sick.

Derek hated Truman. If he had forgotten what that high school hate felt like, then this whole fiasco was one hell of a reminder: Truman was scum. He needed to be eliminated.

Derek walked down the hallway, nodding politely to all the guests that were milling around. He saw Emily walking toward him and paused, "Hey sweetie."

Emily gave him a strange look, "There's no one else here, Derek. We don't have to put on a show."

"What?"

"So the divorce papers should be finalized next week—"

"_What?" _

"Our divorce, Derek!" Emily looked exasperated. "Anyway, I haven't told anyone yet. Be sure to wait till _after _the wedding to spread the word, yeah? I wouldn't want to take away Casey's thunder. It is _her _day, after all."

"Uh, sure," Derek said slowly, an odd ringing in his ears. He didn't think he could take any more of this. No wonder the queen had looked so worried when she'd sent him here. The future _sucked. _"I'm gonna go outside for a bit," Derek went on, "To, uh, finalize the speech."

Emily glanced at her watch, "All right, but the wedding starts in like a half hour so hurry up."

Derek nodded to her and quickly walked outside. He looked around but didn't see Fay anywhere. Resigned, he sat down on the steps and put his head into his hands. For the first time ever, he actually had _no idea _what to do. He couldn't go to Marti with random stories and fairytales, he didn't have the watch, Fay was no where to be seen…

It was hopeless.

Derek didn't know how long he sat there, but after a while, the doors opened.

"Yo, D!"

"Hey Sam," Derek answered without turning around. "What's up?"

"The wedding's about to start."

"Awesome," Derek said dully.

Sam sighed, "What's the deal, D? If you didn't want her to marry Truman, you should've said something months ago!"

"What makes you think that?"

Sam sat down next to him and grinned. "Look, we all know that you've never liked any of the guys Casey has gone out with, myself included."

"Sam—"

"No, I get it," Sam interrupted. "Casey needs someone who'll treat her with all the respect and love she deserves."

"Truman's not that guy," Derek said, kicking a rock into the air. "He never was."

"I know." Sam waited for a few seconds, but Derek didn't say anything. "So, what are you gonna do about it?"

Derek hesitated, but then jumped up and ran back to Casey's dressing room. "Case, open up!" he said loudly.

The door swung open almost immediately. "Did you finish that damned speech?" Casey snapped.

Derek brushed by her, "No, but that's not important right now."

"_Not important!?" _Casey shrieked. "Der—"

"Why are you marrying Truman?" Derek interrupted swiftly. "An honest answer, Case."

"Because he loves me," Casey replied, frowning.

"And you love him," Derek prompted.

"Yes," Casey answered, with no hesitation.

Derek took a step towards her. "And why did you come back to Truman? There are so many other guys out there, Case…"

Casey took a step backwards, almost as if she were retreating. "There are always other guys Derek," she bit out. "But did any of them ever _want _me? No! No one has ever fought for me the way Truman did—and that's why I'm marrying him!"

"And you're happy with him?" Derek asked, dreading the answer.

"Of course. I'm the happiest I've ever been," Casey said quizzically. "What's with the questions Venturi? Hoping to get some material for your speech?"

"You caught me," Derek said with a half-hearted attempt at a grin. He stepped aside to let her pass. "I believe you have a wedding to get to…?"

"That I do," Casey said, a genuine smile lighting up her features. Derek watched her go and then turned around and walked back outside. He couldn't watch her get married, he just couldn't.

To his surprise, Sam was still outside. "Sam?"

"Did you stop her?"

Derek slumped down on the steps next to Sam. "I couldn't do it. She seemed so happy…I couldn't take that away from her."

"So, she's getting married," Sam said slowly.

Derek looked away and his gaze landed on Fay, who was standing by the bushes again. She met his gaze, and a tear slid down her face, leaving a glowing streak.

Derek looked down. "Yeah, she is."

* * *

***ahh don't kill me yet! lol, no worries there will be more chapters coming up. soo what do you think is gonna happen? reviews please :)**


	12. Bravery

**Author's Note: **Thanks again to everyone who's reading & reviewing! I really appreciate it :)

* * *

"So, you're not gonna do anything?" Sam asked again, his tone conveying a sense of disappointment.

Derek turned to look at him, "Don't tell me you're still in love with Casey, too! Man, if you are then go and stop the wedding yourself!"

Sam shook his head with a smile, "Nah, D. She's come to be one of my closest friends. I just want to see her happy." He nudged Derek, "Besides, I don't think my wife would be too happy if I did that."

Derek fought not to show his surprise, "Oh! Yeah, that's true. Um, is she in there?"

"Of course. Who do you think brought all the cameras?"

Derek hadn't actually seen the cameras but he nodded, "Right. That makes sense."

Sam rolled his eyes, "I told Kendra not to involve the gossip mags in all this, but hey, since when does the wife ever listen?"

Derek laughed, trying to hide his shock. Sam had actually married _Kendra? _Wow, this world was more messed up than he'd originally thought. Suddenly, he heard music coming from the chapel, and he stiffened. It was really happening.

Sam stared straight ahead. "Last chance, D. Either speak now or forever hold your peace." Derek got up and gave his best friend a rueful smile. He began walking down the steps. "Hey!" Sam protested, "Where are you going?"

Derek shrugged, "I'm going for a walk. Tell the fam I got sick or something."

"Sick? D, that's so lame! Come on, man. This is _Casey's _wedding! She has to mean more to you than _this! _You can't just leave—"

"Watch me," Derek muttered. "I'll see you around, Sam."

"What about the reception?" Sam called, but Derek only waved and kept walking. There was no way in hell he wanted to see the new _bride. _

He noticed a park across the street and quickly crossed. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked down one of the paths. It was quiet, with just the random jogger or old person sitting on a bench. Derek kept walking, not really knowing where he was going. It looked like a big park. With any luck, he'd just keep walking and walking and end up in some other world. He had no desire to stay in this one.

He looked up and saw a huge fountain in front of him. He'd likely reached the middle of the park. Derek went up to it and ran his hand along the edge. It was a large, beautiful, stone fountain. He looked into it and saw the hundreds of coins people had thrown in when making a wish. Derek reached into his pocket and fingered a coin. He held it in his hand.

_I wish Casey all the happiness in the world, _he thought and tossed the coin in. In landed with a small splash and sank into the water.

Derek didn't know how long he stood there, but eventually he felt someone's presence. He looked down in surprise to see Fay standing beside him. "Hey," he said quietly.

She looked up at him, "You let her go."

Derek nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "She was happy," he tried to explain. "I couldn't take that away from her."

"I don't understand."

Derek sighed and knelt down so that he and Fay were face to face. He smiled at her sadly, "Yeah, I don't understand either." She nodded, her blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

Suddenly, Derek drew back.

Wait a minute.

Since when did Fay have blue eyes?

Derek stood up and took a step backwards. "Who are you?" he demanded. "You're not Fay!"

The girl smiled at him, beginning to glow with a blinding white light. Derek shielded his eyes as her figure lengthened, her hair grew longer, and she spread her arms out. A crown appeared on her head. When the light faded, Derek found himself looking at the queen.

"What gave it away?" Nari asked, a smile playing her lips. Derek got the feeling that she was quite enjoying herself.

"Your eyes," Derek answered, "Fay's eyes aren't that cold ice blue."

Nari laughed, "Very good, Derek."

Derek didn't relax his stance, "What are you doing here?"

The queen smiled at him. "Time to go back, I think." She held out her hands, and Derek hesitantly took them.

He shut his eyes tightly as he felt himself being teleported. He didn't open his eyes again until he felt the castle's plush carpet beneath his feet.

"Is the sensation of teleportation getting better?" the queen questioned, extracting himself from Derek's grip.

"No," Derek answered sourly.

Nari laughed, "It is difficult for mortals. But you will get used to it."

Derek's shoulders sagged. "Just don't punish Casey," he begged.

The queen exchanged a glance with Tristan. "What are you talking about?"

"I know I failed the second test," Derek said dismally, "But it isn't Casey's fault! Please let her go back to our world! You can keep me here instead. Please."

Neither of them said anything. Derek looked between them frantically, trying to gauge their reaction. Damn their expressionless faces!

The queen stepped forward finally, smiling slightly. "Quite the contrary, Derek. You passed the second test. Remarkably, I might add."

"I—what?" Derek asked, not sure he'd heard correctly.

"You passed," Tristan said in a deep voice, looking impressed.

Derek wasn't quite sure what to say. So he didn't say anything.

"You want to know what the test was," the queen said, correctly interpreting his silence. "Derek, we sent you into the future to Casey's wedding. What did you think the test was?"

"I was supposed to…to prove I loved her," Derek answered haltingly, remembering that the queen thought he was in love with Casey.

"Right," Tristan replied. "Now, how were you supposed to prove that?"

Derek frowned, not knowing what he was getting at. "I was supposed to stop the wedding," he said slowly. "Right?"

Nari smiled at him, "Derek, to anyone else, rushing in and stopping the wedding would seem like the ultimate declaration of love, would it not?"

"But you saw beyond that," Tristan continued. "Think about it, Derek. You stopping the wedding wouldn't have been for _love._"

"It wouldn't?" Derek asked, very much confused.

The queen shook her head, "It would have been a selfish act, Derek. You would have stopped the wedding for _yourself. _Not for Casey." She walked toward him and gently took one of his hands in her own. "Sometimes," she said quietly, "We have to set those who we love free. You placed Casey's happiness above your own. That is the _true _act of love."

"Oh," Derek said faintly. He felt very light-headed all of a sudden.

"Sit down," the queen said kindly, waving her hand so that a chair appeared behind him. Derek sank into it slowly. Were these people serious? He couldn't _possibly _love Casey…could he?

"Um," Derek cleared his throat, "What about the third test?"

Nari exchanged another glance with Tristan. "Are you sure you're up for it right now?" she asked Derek worriedly.

"The sooner, the better," Derek answered with a small smile. Nari and Tristan might be putting on the nice-guy-act right now, but he didn't know how long it was going to last.

"Okay," the queen agreed, waving her hand toward the silver bowl. It lit up for a brief second. "The test is ready for you."

"Any hints?" Derek asked half-jokingly.

Tristan answered, "In the first world, you were tested on your faith and loyalty. In the second world, you were tested on the purity of your love."

"Okay," Derek replied slowly. "So the third test will be…?"

"A test of your bravery," Nari answered. She looked nervous. "Go on."

Derek sighed, a sense of foreboding pressing heavily against him. He got up and hesitantly placed his hand into the liquid…

A few seconds later, the vortex stopped and he landed hard on his feet. He looked around in confusion.

He appeared to be back in the forest.

That was strange.

He looked down at himself and noticed that he was back in his own clothes. He patted his leather jacket, and was relieved to feel the watch in his pocket. He took out the watch gingerly and held it out in his hand, watching the dials spin.

Too late, he realized that the image of the two people holding hands he had seen before probably symbolized a marriage. So much for the watch helping him. It was just way too obscure to be of any use to him. But still…

Curiously, he watched as the dials stopped spinning and settled on an image. He cocked his head, frowning at the picture. Unlike all the other images he'd gotten, this one was clear. There were two stick figures. A bigger stick figure was chasing the smaller one. Derek has a sinking feeling that _he _was the one being chased.

"Derek?"

He turned around to see Fay standing behind him. "Fay! Is it really you?"

She looked around, seemingly confused. "Yeah, it's me," she answered finally.

Derek gave her a quick hug, glad to see she was okay. "They let you go, then?"

"I'm...not sure," she said hesitantly. "They didn't tell me anything."

"This is the third test," Derek informed her.

Fay's eyes lit up. "You passed the first two tests!?" she asked excitedly.

Derek laughed, "You mean you thought I wouldn't?"

Fay smiled back at him. "I had faith in you," she said simply. "Do you still have the watch?"

"Yeah, but I gotta say, it hasn't been too helpful..."

Fay shook her head, "If you only knew what people would give to get their hands on that watch! Trust me, it's very valuable."

"What people?" Derek asked suspiciously. "The queen?"

"She would want it, yes," Fay acknowledged. "But there are far worse people in this world that would kill for something like that."

"Okay," Derek said slowly. "So do you know what I'm doing here?"

"You said it's the third test," Fay prompted. "Did she tell you anything else?"

"She said it was a test of my bravery," Derek answered. "Why?"

Fay looked worried for a second. "The third --and final-- test is usually the most dangerous."

Derek sighed and sat down, "I guess I'll just wait for some monster to show up then, eh?"

Fay laughed and sat down next to him, "Bravery doesn't necessarily have to do with monsters. Sometimes it just means standing up to your fears."

"Yeah, I know," Derek admitted. "But monsters can be less scary than my fears."

She turned to him, her eyes glowing. "What do you fear, Derek?"

The answer came easy to him. He didn't even have to think about it. "Losing her," he said quietly. "I can't lose her."

Fay nodded, looking at the ground.

"The future," Derek went on, "It was horrible. I can't--that can't happen."

"What was the future like?"

"Casey got married to this total scumbag from high school...and she acted like _we _had _nothing! _We weren't even _friends! _It felt like--like I lost a part of myself," Derek rambled on, not noticing that Fay had stood up.

"I'm so sorry, Derek," she whispered.

Derek frowned, "For what?"

But she disappeared.

What the hell?

Suddenly, the wind picked up ominously. Derek took a few steps backwards, looking around. The wind suddenly rushed forward to a spot directly in front of him, circling until it looked like a mini-tornado. Derek squinted, noticing that a figure was appearing in the middle of the tornado.

As the wind died away, the figure lengthened and darkened until it looked like a large shadow. It looked almost corporeal, but not quite. Derek had a feeling that if he tried to touch the shadow, his hand would go right through it. On the other hand, he was also quite sure that this shadow could hurt him.

"What do you want?" Derek shouted.

The shadow laughed coldly and waved an arm. A figure appeared next to him. Derek's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Casey!"

Casey looked at him in confusion, "Who are you?"


	13. Luck

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long wait! thank you to everyone reading & reviewing! enjoy :)

* * *

"What—what do you mean? It's me! Derek!"

Casey looked at him, a confused look crossing her face. "I'm Casey. Nice to meet you…" she said hesitantly.

Derek's heart thudded painfully in his chest. What was going on? Why didn't Casey remember him? He looked up at the shadow angrily, "What did you do to her!?"

"This is your test Venturi. Pass and she will be returned to you, whole and new."

"And if I don't pass?" Derek shouted, raising his voice to be heard above the gathering wind.

The shadow laughed, raising its arms so that the wind began to circle around it once more. "Then she stays like this."

"But that's not fair!"

"It's what you fear, is it not?" With that, the shadow disappeared.

Fear.

_"What do you fear, Derek?"_

_"Losing her."_

_"I'm so sorry…"_

Fay.

Fay had betrayed him.

"Dammit," Derek swore, viciously kicking a rock on the ground. That stupid little fairy-witch-whatever had actually double-crossed him! What the fuck!?

"Um, excuse me, but are you okay?" Casey asked tentatively.

"No," Derek answered shortly, turning away from her. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, trying to think.

Alright, what did he know? _Assemble the facts, _a faint voice echoed in his mind. _Okay, no problem._

One, Casey had no idea who he was.

Two, this was the third test.

Three, it had something to do with bravery.

Four…nope, that was pretty much all he knew.

Derek's shoulders sagged. It was hopeless. He had no idea what to do. The watch was, once again, completely useless. So what if it showed him being chased by something? Clearly there was nothing chasing him right now, so that information didn't help him either.

"I hope my master comes back soon," Casey said idly, rubbing her foot in the dirt. "I don't like the outside world much."

"What?" Derek asked, not sure he had heard correctly. "That shadow thing is your _master?" _

"Yes." She eyed him, "Why?"

"How long have you been here?" Derek asked slowly.

"All my life," Casey replied instantly with a bright smile. "And you?"

Derek's heart sank. She had no idea who she was—or what she _meant _to him. "Case…" he began hoarsely.

She cocked her head, her lips pursing. "Are you talking to me?"

"You don't know me?" Derek asked desperately. "Come on, Case. Try to remember!"

Casey shrugged, turning away from him. "Sorry. I really have no idea who you are."

"I'm your—your…" Derek stuttered, trying to find the right words. What exactly _was _she to him? 'Step-sister' certainly wouldn't do. She was _much, much _more than that. On a whim, Derek handed the watch to her. Casey took it cautiously, looking at him curiously. "Just hold it in your hand," he said encouragingly. "Let's see what it says."

Casey held the watch out and Derek narrowed his eyes as the dials began to spin. But then he frowned. Something was wrong.

None of the symbols changed and the dials didn't stop spinning. Instead, they began circling the watch even more rapidly, almost desperately. Frowning, he snatched the watch out of Casey's hands. The dials stopped almost immediately at the chase symbol he had seen before.

"Was it supposed to do that?" Casey asked.

"No! It was supposed to show you what you desire," Derek hesitated. "Don't you want anything?"

She shrugged, "I've never been able to desire anything before. It was not the card dealt to me."

Huh? Derek was at a loss for words. So this Casey didn't have any freewill either? Derek could feel a thundering in his head. Pounding, red hot, pure anger. What the hell had these people done!?

He took a few steps so that he was facing her. He carefully took her hands within his own. Casey's eyes widened at his touch, but she only twitched slightly before relaxing. She looked up into his eyes. _She trusts me, _Derek realized, gazing back at her. _She might not know me, but she trusts me. _

"Casey," he said quietly. "Please try to remember. Anything. Everything. It's _me. _Derek."

Casey closed her eyes, her face scrunching up. "I'm trying..."

"Please," he begged. "Come on, Case. It's you and me. We fight and argue and annoy the hell out of each other, but we're still…_us." _

"I believe you," she said softly. "But I'm sorry, I just don't remember you."

Derek dropped his hands from hers and turned away, more frustrated than before. He clutched the watch in his hand, feeling the cold metal heat up against his grip. _Stupid, useless, piece of junk. _He gritted his teeth as his temper flared. _Stupid Fay, stupid birthday, stupid queen, stupid world. _He'd had enough. In a burst of anger, he swung his arm back and threw the watch with all his might. Casey gasped as the watch flew high up…up and away. It landed somewhere within the forest. Derek didn't bother to see where.

He was done.

Screw everyone and everything.

He whirled around and began stomping along the path in the forest. He didn't know where it was taking him, and he honestly didn't care. He just wanted to lose himself somewhere and not remember anything. Casey was gone. He had nothing left.

"Derek!"

He didn't turn around, aware that Casey was following him. "Go away."

"Wait," she protested. "Why did you throw that thing away? Isn't it important?"

"Not to me," he hissed. "Give it to your master. I don't care. Just leave me alone."

"Why are you so angry?" she asked, almost wonderingly. "I didn't do anything to you."

Derek's heart softened slightly. "It's not you," he muttered. "You just…remind me of someone I used to know."

"What happened to her?"

"She's gone."

Casey sighed, "Did she die?"

"No," Derek said quietly. "But I lost her."

"And so you lost a part of yourself," Casey said thoughtfully.

He looked up at her, surprised. "Yes," he admitted. "That's what it feels like."

She smiled at him, and it was so much like Casey's smile that it hurt. Derek swallowed as Casey took one of his hands within her own. "I know it hurts," she said softly. "But isn't there anyone else in the world that you care about? Anyone else worth living for?"

Derek opened his mouth to say 'no' but Casey gripped his hand even more tightly and a sudden burst of light hit him in the chest. He fell, hitting his head on the ground…

**"**_**Ralph's surprisingly easy to live with. Kinda obsessed with his drums though."**_

**"**_**Thanks guys. Means a lot."**_

**"**_**Smerek! Today's your birthday, isn't it?"**_

**"**_**Wish I could be there was a special Smarti hug."**_

**"**_**And I'm **__**your **__**girlfriend!"**_

**"**_**Wow, big family…Do you ever get sick of them?"**_

**"**_**Sometimes…but I wouldn't give them up for the world."**_

Abruptly, something shifted in his mind, almost as if trying to block out his memories…

**"**_**There are always other guys Derek…But did any of them ever **__**want **__**me? No! No one has ever fought for me the way Truman did!"**_

**"**_**Derek, you've made a lot of mistakes…This is supposed to be your chance to fix them."**_

**"**_**Maybe he had to prove his love for the maid?"**_

**"**_**And what is she to you?"**_

**"**_**She's family."**_

**"**_**The beautiful girl. She belongs to you?"**_

**"**_**I'm sure she'd say that she belongs to no one…"**_

**"**_**Don't go...I don't know how to get you back!"**_

**"**_**The watch is the key...."**_

Derek gasped, coughing as he sat up. He looked wildly around, but didn't see Casey anywhere. He gingerly touched his head, which appeared to be slightly bruised from his fall, but thankfully there was no blood. He got up slowly, glad to see that nothing was spinning. His body ached, and he closed his eyes, remembering what had happened. It appeared as though this-world-Casey had some power of her own. She had hit him with…light?

The watch is the key. Derek nodded to himself. Even after everyone had warned him of its importance, he hadn't taken notice. Obviously the watch was a lot more valuable than he thought. He walked in the general direction he'd thrown it, scanning the ground for it.

"Looking for this?"

Derek's head snapped up and he gazed in shock. The shadow stood before him. Holding the watch.


	14. Destiny

"Actually I am," Derek said tightly. "Give it back."

"Oh I don't think so," the shadow said with a laugh. "Finders, keepers."

"But it's mine!" Derek shouted, knowing as he said the words that they weren't true.

"No, it's not. But don't worry, you will not be punished for taking it."

"I didn't _take _it," Derek said crossly, not particularly fond of being accused of stealing the watch. "It was a gift."

The shadow stiffened and suddenly a darkness seemed to ebb from it, filling up a greater part of the clearing. Derek took a step backwards as the scene before him dimmed and shuddered. Then with a tiny _pop! _the shadow disappeared completely, and in its place stood a white figure, blindingly bright.

Derek squinted his eyes as the woman stepped forward. He looked up at her in awe. She was tall, and wearing a long flowing white dress. Her hair was circled like a cone above her head. She was pale, almost starkingly white, with bright blue eyes and blue lips. Frost clung to her the way a snowy day clings to air, and small icicles hung from her ears. She let out a breath of air, and Derek shivered as the temperature around him dropped to near freezing.

"It _was _a gift," the woman agreed. "But it was not hers to give away. She will be punished."

Derek frowned, a faint trace of a dream he'd had recently coming to his mind. He had a feeling this scene had been played out. How it ended, he didn't know.

"Who- who are you?" Derek demanded, wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm.

"Isabella," the woman said, her voice high and cold. "The queen."

"But that's impossible," Derek frowned. "I've already met the queen. Nari."

Isabella's eyes flashed, and Derek immediately knew that this woman had some serious magic. "_Nari," _she said scathingly, "rules where the sun rises and sets. She has yet to conquer the North."

Derek thought for a few seconds. "What about the South?"

Isabella looked briefly annoyed. "The South is forsaken land. To rule there would be suicide."

"So _you _rule the North," Derek deduced, looking at Isabella questioningly.

"I do. But soon," she smiled coldly, "I shall rule it all. And it will all be thanks to this little thing," she held up the watch, pulling it out of one of the many folds in her gown.

"How did you get that? The shadow thing—"

"Was of my own creation," Isabella interrupted. "Long years have taught me what you mortals fear…death, darkness, and fear itself. The "shadow thing" as you so eloquently put it was a representation of all that."

"Are you…" Derek trailed off, not knowing how to phrase his question. '_Are you evil?' seemed a little melodramatic. However, he was completely sure that this woman was no friend of his. For starters, she had the watch. He needed to get it back. Immediately. _

"Call me Bella," the queen said unexpectedly. "And I know just what you want."

"Do you?" Derek asked weakly.

"Your heart beats naught for one," Bella said slowly, closing her eyes as though seeing something Derek could not. "She shares a connection with you. A strong one." The queen opened her eyes, an odd expression on her face as though she didn't quite know what to make of the information presented to her. "The bond is not unbreakable," she mused. "But it is very strong. Your devotion to...Casey, is it?"

"Yes," Derek answered hesitantly. "Do you know where she is?"

"She is at my castle," Bella replied, cocking her head as though she found the situation very interesting. "I will be happy to take you there."

"How?" Derek asked warily. "Teleportation?"

The queen's cocky smile wavered. "You have already been shown teleportation?" she asked carefully.

Derek hesitated, "Uh, just a couple times…"

"By whom?" she demanded, and Derek was startled to see her arms take on a glazed look, almost as if they had been turned to ice.

"Nari," he replied, deciding at the last minute not to mention Fay's name. She might have betrayed him, but he still owed her.

Bella had stiffened but she relaxed slightly at his words and held her hands out, beckoning for Derek to join her. "I will take you to where Casey is being held, but I am afraid I can do nothing for her memory. That spell is not mine to undo."

"She's under a spell?"

"It was not my doing," the queen replied impatiently. "Are you ready?"

Derek narrowed his eyes, trying to think. He had a feeling that this woman was lying about several things. One, she most definitely had placed this memory spell on Casey. Two, she wanted Derek to come with her for a different reason (he hadn't quite figured out that reason yet). Three, she was still holding the watch in her hands.

_Okay, all he had to do was get close enough to her to grab the watch. Then…what? _He could go to her on the pretense of holding her hands for the teleportation, but once he got the watch, what was there to stop her from following him?

Derek bit his lip. He knew that the chase scene from the watch probably had been hinting at this, but what could he do to ensure a decent head start? He didn't think physical violence was going to help in any way. Not only was she a lot taller than him, but she definitely had power of her own to make her a lot stronger.

_Think, _he told himself. _What would Casey do? _He frowned. She would no doubt ask someone for help, something that Derek never did.

He closed his eyes. _Fay I need your help. _

_I'm here. _The reply came almost immediately, somehow from within his own mind. _Go to Bella. I will help you when you get close enough. _

"Derek? Do you want to see Casey or not?"

"I'm trying to decide if I should trust you or not," Derek replied half-truthfully.

Bella laughed, "Trust is overrated."

"Spoken like a true villain," Derek shot back, shocked at his own candor.

The queen merely raised an eyebrow, seemingly unfazed. "Shall we go then?"

Derek pretended to deliberate for a few seconds. "You promise I'll get to see Casey?" he asked, purposefully not saying anything about being able to _leave _once his got to see Casey.

"Yes," she replied with a bright smile. "I promise."

"Okay," Derek agreed, slowly walking toward her.

As he closed the final few feet between them, Fay's voice echoed within his mind. _Take the watch from her. The power is within you. _

Derek's eyes flicked toward the queen and he held out his hands on the pretense of taking hers. _Here goes nothing. _He took a deep breath and in one swift move he raised his fist backwards, ready to strike a blow when a beam of light erupted from his fist. The queen screamed, stumbling backwards blindly. Derek grabbed the watch from her hand as her grip loosened.

She fell to the ground. Derek looked back briefly to see her writhing on the ground.

Then he ran.

He lost track of time and space. He had no idea where he was going and he had no idea how long he'd been running. He didn't look back, but he thankfully didn't hear any footsteps following behind him either. Though, if he stopped to think about it, it was ridiculous to assume that the _queen _would lower herself to running through a forest to follow some mortal.

After a long while, Derek stopped to catch his breath. He knelt on the ground, his heart pounding as he gasped for air. He sat down, placing the watch next to him on the ground.

_Fay, are you still there? _

No response.

Derek frowned, wondering if he should be worried. Where had the light come from, anyway? Had Fay somehow branded him with her own magic?

All of a sudden, Derek heard a rustling in the trees. He stiffened, grabbing the watch off the ground and getting up. He backed away from the clearing and when the sound had disappeared, he began running again.

It was perhaps unfortunate that he had become so paranoid that he was becoming increasingly distracted and kept looking back to see if anyone was following him. It was also perhaps unfortunate that he was not thinking of the particular dream he'd had before he had come here.

In any case, when he reached another clearing with a huge rock in the middle of it, he decided to rest on it for a few seconds to catch his breath.

As soon as he touched it, he knew something was wrong.

The ground began cracking around him, and his feet appeared to be stuck in one place. Someone laughed evilly, the sound echoing around the forest.

Derek shouted as the ground gave away and be fell, the echoes of a girl's screams ringing in his ears.


	15. Truth

Derek fell for what seemed like ages, until he finally hit solid ground. It took him a minute to gather his senses, but he knew immediately that he hadn't fallen as hard as he should have.

Something (or someone) had slowed his landing.

He got up and looked around carefully, his eyes adjusting to the dark. He was clearly underground in some sort of cave. But how to get out was the question..

He glanced down and saw a small puddle of water on the ground. As he stared at it, it shimmered and rippled, reminding him of how the mirror had acted before pulling him into this world. He knelt down hopefully. Maybe this was another portal of some sort?

As he bent down to look in it, bright blue eyes appeared in the puddle, staring back at him. Casey.

He involuntarily reached out a hand to touch her, and then realized what he was doing. He let his hand drop to one side of the puddle and leant over it. "Casey?"

"Are you okay?" Her tone was clipped. She was worried.

"I'm fine. I just fell," Derek explained cautiously. "Where are you? At Bella's castle?"

"No, she was lying."

"I knew it," Derek said with a grin. "Come on, Case. You gotta admit that I have all these people figured out pretty well."

Casey snorted, "Figures that even in a life or death situation, you'd find time to give yourself a pat on the back."

Derek shrugged, "Hey I give credit where credit's due." He paused, "Unlike _some _people_." _

Casey rolled her eyes, "Well excuse me if I don't think congratulations are in order until we get the hell out of here!"

"Hell is right," Derek said thoughtfully. "Where am I anyway?"

"In the underground tunnels," Casey replied promptly. "They were built thousands of years ago as an alternate escape route."

"For who?"

"The commoners who wanted a way to leave the South."

Derek scratched his head. "Casey, please don't tell me you've been sitting in the castle's library this whole time."

"Well, it's not like there's anything else to do," Casey said defensively.

Derek groaned, "God, you're so predictable."

"Am I?"

Something in her tone made Derek pay attention. "Most of the time," he amended. "Of course, there are those other times when I have absolutely no idea why you do the things you do."

"And what times are those?"

"Oh you know," Derek said airily, "For example, when you wouldn't let me break up with a certain best friend of yours. Oh and also when you proceeded to ignore me for months." He yawned, "Yeah, times like those."

Casey looked briefly surprised. "I would have thought the great Derek Venturi would've figured that out by now."

Derek went very still. "So you admit that you did it on purpose?" he asked carefully.

"Derek…"

He waited, but she didn't continue. Her face fell slightly, and he couldn't tell if she was disappointed that he hadn't figured this out on his own or she just didn't want to tell him the real reason.

"Oh, and I was also pretty surprised when you _forgot _my birthday," Derek continued when Casey still didn't say anything.

Casey gave him a small smile, "Do you seriously think that I _actually _forgot about your birthday, D? It was written in and starred on my calendar."

"You didn't call," he pointed out, and he wouldn't admit it but it still hurt.

"You might not know me anymore, D, but I still know you."

Derek frowned, "Who said anything about me not knowing you? I probably know you better than anyone else…including whatever loser you're dating now."

She raised her eyebrows, "Fishing, much? I'm not dating anyone, D."

Derek looked down with a smile. She was right. She did know him pretty well. "You still haven't answered my other question," he pointed out.

"What question?"

Derek sighed, "Why wouldn't you let me break up with Emily? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for best friend loyalty. But don't you think you took it a little too far?"

"No," Casey responded with an air of finality. "And from what I've heard, you still haven't broken up with her."

"Consider us broken up," Derek said dully, resigned to the fact that Casey wasn't going to answer his question. "I was just waiting for the right time."

Casey's eyes flashed, "And this is the right time, is it?"

Derek shrugged, "Hey, I'm currently sitting in an underground tunnel with no way of getting back home. I'd call this as good a time as any."

Casey looked like she ready to punch him in the face. "Coward."

Derek shrugged. If she wanted to call him a coward after he'd quite literally almost died for her, then she could go right ahead.

"Do you try to be annoying!?" she shrieked when he didn't answer her.

Derek grinned. Pushing Casey to her limit was a hobby he enjoyed much more than he should have. He pretended to think about her question, "No, I don't _try. _Not really, anyway. I might put in a little effort into annoying _you _though…"

Casey appeared to be taking deep, calming breaths. "Derek," she said through clenched teeth, "We are in the middle of the third and _final _test. Will you please _focus!?" _

Derek yawned again. "Case, if you have any ideas, feel free to let me know. I, personally, have no idea what to do here."

"You have the watch!" she shouted. "Will you fucking use it!?"

"Oh yeah," Derek remembered, taking the watch out of his pocket and holding it in his hand. "I forgot."

"You forgot," Casey repeated, looking exasperated. "D, for once, will you just listen to me when I tell you that the watch is fucking important!"

"No need to have such a potty mouth, Case," Derek said calmly.

"Derek, I don't think you understand the severity of this situation," Casey snapped.

"Hey, that reminds me. Who saved me from falling?" Derek asked. "That must've been, what, like 50 feet? I should be dead by now," he added, regretting his words immediately when he saw Casey flinch.

"That was Nari. She's doing all she can to help you."

"Nari?" Derek asked, surprised. "I thought she was the one who set up this test?"

"The queen Isabella was not supposed to be there," Casey said carefully. "She wants the watch for herself because it will show her how to defeat Nari and gain control of the land."

"She's not supposed to be here?" Derek repeated, confused. "How did she get here, then?"

Casey shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Alright, look, just don't freak out, okay?"

"Okay…"

"She captured Fay and forced her to—"

"What!?" Derek bellowed.

"You said you wouldn't freak out," Casey said crossly. "Don't worry, we're working on getting her back. In the meantime, you _need _to pass this test."

Derek stared at her in disbelief. "Casey, let me repeat this for you one last time. I _don't know _what the test is! And don't tell me it's about bravery because god knows I've done enough of that here as it is."

"A knight's work is never done," Casey said, her eyes widening slightly as though she was giving him a clue.

"A knight? What do I need to go put on some armor or something? Find a horse?"

"Think about what a knight _embodies _Derek."

Derek noted the serious tone in Casey's voice and sat back on his heels, chewing his lip. "A knight…saves people," Derek finally said. "Usually a damsel in distress."

Casey sighed, "It's the 21st century, D. Not so many damsels in distress anymore."

"Oh, but it's perfectly normal to have a _knight," _Derek scoffed. "Geez, Case, you and your paradoxes."

Casey opened her mouth, probably to correct him, but she shut it again with a smile. "You're on the right track," she offered. "But I can't say more."

"I'm doing this for you," Derek said, the words popping out of his mouth unexpectedly. "The least you could do is help me out."

"You're not doing this for me," Casey said firmly. "You need to get back to our world, whether you want to or not."

Derek frowned, "You mean _we _have to go back."

Casey sighed, "No, that's not what I meant."

Derek stood up, his heart pounding painfully fast. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"I'm…not going back with you," Casey said hesitantly. "I'm staying."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"I've agreed to stay," Casey said in a soft, pleading tone. "Don't make this harder than it is, Derek."

Derek's eyes narrowed. "So you made a deal with someone?" he deduced. "Who?"

"It's not important. What's important is that you get back, whatever it takes."

Derek gave a short laugh. "Uh, reality check, Case. I'm not leaving without you. _Whatever it takes," _he mimicked.

"I knew you were going to react like this," Casey snapped.

"Then maybe you should've thought twice before making such a stupid deal," Derek retorted.

"I had no choice."

"Casey, let me spell this out for you in a way that you can understand. I'm not _under any circumstances_ leaving without you. There would be no point of me going back to a world without you in it—" he broke off, wincing. When the hell had he decided to be so honest, anyway?

"That's sweet, D. But I'm sure you'll find someone else to prank in my absence."

Derek stared back at her. "Is that all you think you're worth to me? Somebody to prank?"

"That's all I _can _be to you," Casey said quietly. "Tristan has offered to make me the princess and—"

"Princess!?" Derek shouted. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I can do a lot for these people," Casey said earnestly. "I can _help _them, Derek. I've always wanted to—"

"To live in a fantasy world?" Derek demanded. "This isn't you, Casey. You said I didn't know you, but I do. The real Casey would never abandon her family. The real Casey would never abandon—" He paused before saying what he really wanted to: "_me." _

Casey didn't reply and Derek looked down, remembering that he was still holding the watch. Before he could decipher what symbol it had landed on, the dials began spinning wildly without stopping. Derek frowned, remembering this was the way the watch had reacted when the memory-free Casey had touched it.

Because she hadn't desired anything.

Derek willed himself to _want _to get out of here, but the watch didn't stop turning.

Great.

"Derek, what's going on?" Casey demanded. "What is the watch doing?"

"It won't stop spinning," he muttered.

"That's impossible. It shows you what you _want." _

"Maybe I don't want anything."

"Don't you want to go back home?" she cried. "D, come on! Why are you making this so difficult?"

"Because of you," he spat, a bitter taste rising in his mouth. "Casey, I need—" he hesitated. He had to do this. "I _want _you. Nothing else matters."

"Derek—"

"No," he interrupted. "Without you, nothing matters." He stared into her shimmering blue eyes and finally said it, "I love you."

Abruptly, a wind knocked into him and fell backwards. Something pulled at him, twisting mercilessly until –just as suddenly- the pressure was released.

Derek cautiously opened his eyes, his mouth dropping open in shock when he found himself back in the castle.

Nari stepped forward, a genuine smile on her face. "Congratulations on passing the third test, Derek."

* * *

**coming up next: will derek & casey finally be able to leave or will Tristan hold her to her promise? Also, will they finally find out who sent the watch? to be continued :)**


	16. Return

"I beg your pardon." It was a statement, not a request.

Nari's expression flickered slightly. "I can understand if you're upset, Derek, but we did warn you that this test was about bravery…"

"I thought bravery would mean fighting a fucking dragon or something!" Derek hissed.

"Well, Fay did tell you that bravery could mean anything. As long as you were standing up to your fears—"

"So, I'm just some psychological study to you!?"

"No, of course not," Nari snapped, for the first time looking angry. "Derek, you confessed your feelings to the girl we all knew you loved. You just had to admit it yourself—"

"And her!" Derek shouted. "What about her!? Now she knows!"

"And what's so bad about that?" the queen asked coldly. "Love is hardly something to be kept secret Derek. It is something to be celebrated."

"You have no idea," Derek matched her icy tone. "You just live here in your little castle,but you have no idea what the real world is like!"

"This world may not be real to you," she said softly. "But it is _our _home. And it is very real to us."

"Fine. That's not the point."

"Then what is your point?"

Derek took a deep breath, trying to find the words to articulate how he was feeling. For some reason, he felt overwhelmingly betrayed. "You said that everything that happened in the tests was real," Derek began.

"Yes, that is correct."

"Will she remember what happened?"

"Yes."

"But the first two tests weren't real…"

"They were alternate realities," Nari said slowly. "But the last test took place in your own time and in your own reality. That is why it is the hardest one."

"So…where is everyone?"

"Casey is downstairs."

"What about everyone else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Fay."

"Is also downstairs. Still in the dungeons."

"And that other queen? She's real?"

"Very much so, I'm afraid. But you have the watch back, so it's okay."

"Yeah, good thing—" Derek broke off, a feeling of horror washing over him. "Wait, you know about the watch?"

Nari smiled, looking amused. "I knew the second you walked in here that you had the watch. But I wanted you to be the one to tell me. Which you obviously didn't."

"Oh…"

"I'm not mad," she continued. "If anything, it shows your loyalty your friends, which I commend. Fay told you not to tell me –or anyone else- and you didn't. Quite impressive, if I do say so myself."

"Thanks, I think..."

"Would you like to go downstairs now and see Casey?"

"In a minute," Derek stalled, his throat suddenly dry.

Casey knew how he felt about her.

This was going to be awkward.

Very awkward.

Nari smiled understandingly. "I'll give you a minute to yourself. Go downstairs when you're ready." With a final nod, she headed up the long staircase gracefully, her dress dragging along behind her.

Derek stared after her mindlessly, wondering what he should do.

"Admiring my sister?" a deep voice interrupted his reverie.

Derek turned around to see Tristan enter the room, his face unreadable.

"She's a beautiful woman," Derek chose to say, facing Tristan. "Any man would be lucky to marry her."

Tristan nodded slowly. "I guess that man will not be you."

"No, it won't," Derek agreed.

"She would have liked you to be her king," Tristan said quietly. "I knew she was interested in you when Fay brought you here. Or else she would not have kissed you."

Derek smiled slightly, remembering Nari's cool lips on his. "She has quite the icy touch," he commented.

"So I've heard."

"It seems to me that she's doing a hell of a job ruling without a king by her side."

"I know. But people will start to talk if she does not find a ruler soon—"

"Buddy, this is the 21st century…or at least it is in my world," Derek amended. "She doesn't need a man to help her rule. Not if she doesn't want one."

"You humans are all quite open-minded, aren't you?" Tristan said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, most of us."

"Then why do you fear your love for the girl?"

"I—I don't _fear _it," Derek stammered. "It's just—"

"Derek, I'm going to be honest with you here. Casey is a beautiful woman. She is smart and talented and any man would be lucky to have her."

"I know."

"I would have been glad to have her as my princess."

"I know," Derek repeated. "She told me you asked her. And that she accepted."

"It was part of our deal. If you failed the third test, she wanted to ensure that you'd have a way home."

"Oh," Derek frowned. "That explains a lot."

"But you passed."

"Yes, I did. So you can't have her."

Tristan laughed. "I am a man of honor, Derek. I will not violate the terms of our agreement. Nor will the queen. You are both free to leave."

Derek nodded, but didn't move. "What will happen to Fay?"

"She will be released, of course," Tristan said promptly.

Derek hesitated, "And what about that other queen? The evil one."

Tristan shrugged, "We don't worry about her. She will always try to get the watch, but if you take it back to your world, then she will never have the chance to get it."

"You knew about the watch, too?"

Tristan raised an eyebrow, "Of course, Derek."

"Someone told me that even Nari would want the watch for herself."

"Who wouldn't want something that could tell them the future?" Tristan countered. "But that sort of power in the wrong hands could do a lot of damage. We have agreed that it should be taken back to your world."

"What should I do with it there? Hide it?"

"The answer will become clear to you," Tristan replied mysteriously and with a wink. "Now be a man and get your girl," he commanded.

"Alright, alright," Derek muttered.

He licked his lips nervously and slowly walked downstairs, trying to imagine what their encounter was going to be like. He reached the end of the hallway and walked into the dungeons where Casey and Fay were both sitting. Both of them looked up as Derek entered the room.

"Derek! You're okay!" Fay jumped into his arms.

Derek smiled and hugged her back. He had developed quite a fondness for the little fairy. "Yeah, I'm fine," he reassured her. "Thanks for all your help. I couldn't have done it without you."

Fay nodded and smiled at him. "I'll wait upstairs for you, shall I?" she suggested, and walked out without waiting for an answer.

"Nice girl," Derek commented in the sudden silence.

"Yeah," Casey agreed. "She's very helpful. I'm glad we met her."

Derek shuffled his feet. He felt like a jerk. Why couldn't he say anything?

"Are you okay?" he asked finally, still not meeting her gaze.

"Yeah, a little shaken up, but nothing serious."

"That's good."

More silence.

"What did Nari say?" Casey asked after a minute.

"Oh...she said we could leave since I passed all three tests."

"When?"

"What?"

"When can we leave?" Casey repeated.

"Whenever we want, I guess."

"You don't sound very excited to get back."

"No, I am," Derek said quickly. "Come on, let's go then." He led the way back up the stairs, his face burning.

Nari and Tristan were both waiting next to Fay. Tristan raised his eyebrows in Derek's direction but Derek shook his head slightly.

"Well," Nari began. "This has been quite an interesting experience. For all of us."

"It certainly has," Casey said. "But we're ready to go back home."

"Of course," Nari agreed, waving an arm. A large mirror appeared in between them, filled with what seemed to be swirling fog. "Just walk into the mirror and you will be transported back your world," she explained.

"Okay," Derek said, taking a deep breath. He turned to Casey, "Ready?"

"Yes," she said determinately. She stepped up to the mirror and smiled. "Fay, thanks for everything. And Tristan, you will find your princess one day." She paused, "And Nari…you will make a wonderful queen."

Fay curtsied and both Tristan and Nari bowed. "Goodbye Casey."

Casey nodded and stepped into the mirror, disappearing into the mist.

Derek stared after her and slowly stepped forward until he was an inch away from the mirror. He looked around at everyone, his throat strangely tight. "Is it weird if I say that I'll miss you guys?"

Nari laughed, "We'll miss you too, Derek. Just do us a favor and remember what you learned here."

"I'll never forget," Derek promised. And he meant it.

"Remember what I said about Casey," Tristan added. "Don't let her go."

"I don't plan on it," Derek said ruefully. "I guess it's up to her now."

"She has her own fears," Fay said softly. She blew Derek a kiss, causing glitter to fly around him as he finally stepped into the mirror.

This time, there was no vortex. Instead, it was like a path had been laid out for him in the fog. He somehow knew where to go and followed the path to the end. As he touched the fog, the scene before him disappeared and he blinked.

He was back.

He looked around his dorm room, noticing Casey was sitting on his bed expectantly.

"So…" he began, then stopped. "Do you remember everything?"

"I do," she replied, smiling at him hesitantly. "Do you?"

"More than I'd like to," Derek muttered.

Casey's smile faded slightly, "Oh."

"No, that's not what I meant," Derek said hastily. "It's just that—the second test is sort of haunting me."

"What happened in it?"

"That's not important. What's important is that you're okay."

"I'm fine," Casey said impatiently. "Derek—"

"It's okay," Derek said hastily. "You don't have to say anything."

"What?"

"Let's just forget the whole thing, okay?"

'Forget it?" Casey repeated, starting to look annoyed.

"Yeah, I think it would be best. That way you don't feel _obligated _to say or do anything that you don't want to do."

Casey shook her head, "Derek, I—"

At that second, someone knocked on his door. Derek got up and flung open the door without checking the peephole. His mouth dropped open. "Emily!"

"Derek, where have you been!?" Emily demanded, brushing by him. "I've called you a million times and—" she broke off. "Casey? What are you doing here?"

* * *

***coming up next: Emily & Casey face off, and Derek finally finds out who sent the watch! reviews please :)**


	17. Revelation

**Author's Note: **So sorry for the long wait!

* * *

Casey, for a second, looked lost for words. She gaped at Emily in open-mouthed shock.

"Casey?" Emily turned around to face Derek with a frown. "D, I thought you guys were in the midst of World War III, and now she's in your room?"

"We—we were," Derek stuttered. "But…we made up."

"Is that why you haven't returned any of my calls?" Emily demanded.

"Yes," Derek replied immediately, seizing on this excuse gratefully. "In all the arguing, I didn't want to pick up the phone."

"You could have at least let me know you were okay," Emily snapped, looking annoyed. "I was worried something had happened to you."

"Sorry."

Emily's features relaxed and she turned around again to face her best friend. "Casey, you didn't tell me that you'd decided to forgive Derek!"

"_Forgive?" _Derek interrupted with a frown. "Forgive me for what?"

Emily shrugged, "For your fight."

"But that fight was about you—"

"Derek!"

Derek didn't even pretend to be sorry for spilling the truth. He raised an eyebrow at his step-sister challengingly. "Whoops."

Casey shook her head, her eyes flashing in Derek's direction. _You're in for it now. _

Derek shrugged. _I don't care. _

Emily looked back and forth between them, a confused look on her face. "What are you talking about? Your fight was about me?"

"Yes, it was," Derek asserted. "See—"

"My god, I knew it!" Emily interrupted. "You wanted Derek to break up with me, didn't you!?"

"_What!?" _

"You just couldn't stand the thought of me actually being happy and getting what I wanted for once!"

"Are you kidding me!?" Casey shouted, but Emily appeared not to have heard her.

"You just—just couldn't stand that for once I actually got the guy! You had to have it all Casey…grades, popularity, the hot guys—"

Derek laughed out loud at that, and both girls turned to face him. Emily's eyes were wide and she looked quite deranged. Casey's mouth was quivering. She was clearly on the verge of tears.

Derek didn't do tears.

He snapped.

"Okay, Em, you have _so _got the wrong end of the stick here—"

"Don't defend her, Derek! I knew she was jealous the minute she caught us in that closet. She hated the fact that you might like me—"

"You're wrong," Derek interrupted, beginning to lose patience. "Does Casey strike you as the type of person who would be jealous of her _best friend?"_

Emily didn't back down. "You don't know her, D."

"No, _you _don't know her," Derek countered, shaking his head. "She would never try to stand in the way of anyone's happiness. She's the most selfless person I know."

"Everyone's selfless compared to you, D," Casey's voice suddenly said. Derek turned to look at her and she flashed him a small smile.

"Yeah, well, that's probably true," Derek replied –and this time he was speaking only to her- "but I meant what I said."

"Thank you," Casey acknowledged slowly. "But I don't think I'm selfless at all. In fact, I'm about to do a very selfish thing."

"Um, hello!" Emily interrupted. "I'm still standing here!"

Derek merely looked at her. She was standing directly in between him and Casey. How fitting.

"I think you should know the truth, Em," Casey finally said, a look of pity on her face. Derek saw it and stepped forward, shaking his head slightly. He knew what Casey was about to do, and he couldn't let her do it. She had saved him far too often. He wasn't going to let her take the fall for this. Not when the whole thing was his fault, anyway.

"Actually," Derek interrupted. "Maybe I should be the one to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"I wanted to break up with you last summer," Derek began.

"_What?" _

"Big fish, new pond," Derek shrugged. "Or however that saying goes. The point is, I wanted to be free when I got to college. No commitments."

Emily's face had become stony, "I see."

"Casey convinced me not to break up with you. Apparently it would've made me a jackass." Derek paused to make sure she understood. "I didn't have a problem with being a jerk, but Casey—"

"Is your moral compass," Emily finished, not meeting his gaze.

"I wouldn't go that far," Casey cut in, smiling slightly.

"So you guys didn't speak for months over this?" Emily said disbelievingly.

"Other things were said," Derek amended. "The point is, Casey convinced me that staying with you was the right thing to do. She _wanted _you to be happy."

"At the expense of your own happiness," Emily stated. It wasn't a question.

Derek frowned, "I didn't say that…"

"You didn't have to."

"Emily…"

"Did you even like me? Like at all?"

Derek took a deep breath. Ah, the one million dollar question. "I _do _like you. As a friend."

"Oh, joy, the _friends _speech," Emily muttered sarcastically.

"No, listen," Derek insisted. "We finally did become friends last year. I just…got confused. We shouldn't have crossed that line from friends into girlfriend and boyfriend."

"And so you're breaking up with me now."

"It wouldn't be fair to either of us to pretend we're still in a relationship," Derek said, shuffling his feet. He hated doing this. He chanced half a glance at Casey, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Right," Emily snapped. "So, who's the lucky girl?"

"What?" Derek asked, taken aback.

"You only break up with a girl when there's someone new," Emily said scathingly. "So who is she?"

"There's no new girl," Derek said half-truthfully.

Emily cocked her head, "So it's an old girlfriend, is it? So who's in town? Kendra? Sally?"

Casey stood up suddenly, her face flushed with anger. "Emily, I think you should leave now."

Emily whirled around to face her, her hair flying behind her. "Don't tell me that you're taking his side! You're supposed to be my best friend!"

"That's funny because I'm pretty sure you just accused me of trying to sabotage your relationship with my dear brother."

"STEP," Derek cut in, out of habit.

Emily shook her head at Derek's interruption. "That 'step' bit has always been awfully important to you, D. More than it ever was to Casey."

Derek winced. If she had wanted to hurt him, she couldn't have chosen better words.

Casey took a step towards him, looking unsure. "D—"

Derek shook his head, feeling as though he'd been punched. "Forget it."

He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and practically fled out the door.


	18. Forever

Derek didn't notice where he was walking. All he knew was that he wanted to get out of there. Away. From _her._

As he walked, his scowl deepened. Was Emily right? Did Casey really not care about the "step" bit in their relationship?

It _would _explain her stupid "same difference" comment the night of graduation. It hadn't meant anything to him then…but then again, he'd thought she'd been kidding. How could anyone chalk up their _years _of constant fighting and flirting to…nothing?

Derek suddenly paused, mentally shaking his head. Had he just called what they did _flirting? _God, he was going crazy.

More like she was driving him crazy.

Derek groaned and slumped down on a bench, putting his head in his hands. He felt extremely weird. Whatever he'd been through tonight…alternate realities, magical worlds…he'd had just about enough. He wanted things to go back to normal. If that involved him not talking to Casey again, so be it.

He hadn't done anything wrong this time. Or the last time for that matter. It was Casey's own damn fault for always seeing the best in people.

_She sees the best in you, _a little voice reminded him. Derek clenched his jaw. He really couldn't deal—

"D?"

Derek looked up to see Casey standing a few feet away from him, a worried look on her face. Her expression immediately morphed into relief and then annoyance when he looked up.

"You're okay."

"I wouldn't say that," Derek said dully. "I haven't been okay in a long time."

Casey sat down on the bench next to him, but didn't meet his gaze. "I'm sure we'll forget about this whole insane adventure sooner or later."

"Yeah, right. How could anyone ever forget that?" Derek scoffed. "But that's not what I meant, anyway."

"I know. It's easier to pretend that's what you were talking about though."

"The Casey I know would never take the easy way out."

"The Derek I know would never make things more difficult than they had to be," Casey countered.

"Maybe I've changed."

"Maybe I have, too."

Derek didn't have a response for that, and so he didn't say anything.

"You said some things…" Casey began, but then stopped.

Derek waited, but she didn't continue.

"Can you tell me about the three tests?" Casey suddenly asked, finally turning to face him. "I mean, well, I know what happened in the third one obviously…but what about the other two?"

_So we're not going to talk about the third test, Case? _Derek asked silently. "Um, well the first test was this freaky thing where your doppelganger tried to seduce me—"

"_What?" _

Derek shrugged, "What can I say, she has good taste."

Casey laughed, "Go on."

Derek had grinned at her response, but he sobered up when he remembered the second test. "Well in the second one…you were getting married."

"I _was _getting married?"

"You did get married," Derek clarified.

"Oh," Casey said softly. "To whom?"

"Truman."

"_What!?" _

"I know. It shocked me, too."

"Did—did you try to stop me?"

Derek shook his head, "We weren't friends, Case. We barely even knew each other. And to top it all off, you were actually _happy _with him."

Casey shook her head, "Some reality."

"It was…terrifying."

"That I would marry Truman? Yeah, I can see how that would be a scary thought," Casey said with a small smile, obviously trying to make light of the situation.

"Was Emily right?" Derek asked suddenly.

"About what?" Casey asked, startled.

Derek whirled around to face her, angry. "Stop acting like you don't know what I'm talking about!"

Casey's eyes widened, and she looked around nervously. "Okay, will you just calm down!" she hissed. "People are starting to stare!"

"I don't care," Derek hissed back.

"Fine, let's just go back to your room," Casey said, standing up and hold out her hand impatiently.

Derek got up, and stared in confusion at the hand she was holding out to him. Casey flushed and dropped her arm and began walking in front of him, leading the way back to his dorm.

Derek bit his lip and nonchalantly entwined his arm with hers as he caught up with her. "So, has the ex left the premises?"

Casey rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched. "Yeah, Emily went back to school."

"Good."

Casey shook her head slightly, but Derek grinned when she didn't remove her arm from his grip. They didn't speak until they had reached his room again.

Derek watched as she slowly removed her coat and placed it on his chair before sitting down on his bed. "So," she prompted.

"You're the one that wanted to bring the conversation to the room," Derek reminded her.

"That's because you were screaming our business for the whole world to hear," Casey retorted.

"I missed this," Derek said, without thinking.

"Missed what?"

"Us. Fighting," Derek grinned. "It's such a vital part of my day. Promise me you won't go off on one of your silent treatments again?"

Casey laughed, "I promise. But you have to promise me something, too."

"What?"

Casey opened her mouth, but closed it again, looking embarrassed.

Derek frowned and went to sit next to her. He unconsciously placed a hand on the small of her back. "You know, I've never seen you so nervous in my life. But ever since you walked into my room earlier…"

Casey smoothed out her dress unnecessarily, "I'm not nervous."

"Case…what is it? You can tell me."

"We went through a lot today," she began slowly. "Or whenever we were over there in that other world." She paused, "I still want to know how we got there."

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too," Derek said with a frown. "Fay said something about someone over here sending me that watch…she wouldn't say who though."

Casey cocked her head, thinking. "Well, that's interesting, to say the least."

Derek's hand was still on her back and he began to move his hand up to her neck, following his own train of thought. He heard her sharp intake of breath, and she turned toward him quickly.

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. As he watched, she bit her lip- a nervous habit. He fought to hide his smirk when he realized _he _was making her nervous.

He leaned forward slightly, testing the waters. To his relief, she didn't pull back. He moved forward inch by inch until he was millimeters away from her lips. "Do you want this?" he murmured.

"Way to ask Venturi," Casey murmured back, her breath tickling his lips. Derek grinned to himself and closed that final distance, his lips meeting hers. Casey started slightly under his grip before kissing him back softly. At least, that's what it started out as – an innocent kiss. Derek began to pull back, but Casey deepened the kiss, almost desperately.

"Case—" Derek breathed, but she pushed him backwards onto the bed unceremoniously.

He didn't fully let her push him down and held himself up on his elbows as Casey straddled him, still kissing him. He knew it was going too far when she began fumbling with the buttons on his shirt.

"Stop—will you just stop?" Derek hissed. "What's wrong with you?"

Casey sat up, looking at him quizzically. "I thought this was what you wanted?"

Derek shook his head and sat up, "What on earth gave you that idea?"

"It's, well, _you_."

"Case, I only want you—but not this way...not now."

Casey began to stand up, but at his words, she sat back down. "What?"

Derek grinned and quickly planted another kiss on her lips. "I love you. I thought we discussed this already?"

Casey shifted, but a pink tinge appeared on her cheeks as she smiled at him. "You meant that?"

"I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it," Derek said quietly. Casey snuggled into him and he kissed the top of her head softly. She looked up at him and brought her lips to meet his again, keeping it chaste.

At that moment, Derek's phone rang. He disentangled himself from her and glanced at the called ID. HOME flashed across the screen.

"It's the house," he mouthed before picking it up. "Hello?"

"Smerek?"

"Smarti! What are you doing up?" Derek asked concernedly. "Is something wrong?"

"I wanted to make sure you were back."

"Back from where?" Derek asked, distracted as Casey began kissing his neck.

"Wonderland!"

"Wonder-what?" Derek demanded as someone in the background shouted, "Marti, what are you doing on the phone!?"

"Smarti?"

"Gotta go, Smerek!" _Click. _

Derek stared at his cell phone in disbelief. He turned to Casey, who noted his expression. "What's wrong, D?"

"Marti just asked me if I was back from Wonderland."

Casey's mouth dropped open, "Are you serious!? She knew about it?"

Derek shook his head, "You know what, I changed my mind. I really _don't _want to know." He smiled and kissed her soundly on the mouth. "It brought you back to me, and that's all that matters.

Casey raised her eyebrows, "Maybe that was the point."

"Hmm," Derek murmured sleepily and wrapped an arm around Casey as he fell back onto his bed. "Are you staying the night?"

Casey pulled herself closer into him with a grin as he turned out the lights. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

**And they lived Dasey-ily Ever After :)**

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THE END!!

*credit to kandykisseshearts for the final line in this story!

And thank you to everyone who reviewed this story, you all mean the world to me!


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